If Valentine were Good
by Wisterian Princess
Summary: Clary Morgenstern is a talented shadowhunter as well as her brother, Jonathan. The Morgensterns are an important family in the nephilim world, and they live in Idris, but Clary has never left home. One day, Clary gets offered the opportunity to live in New York with her parents' good friends, the Lightwoods, and meets Isabelle, Alec and Jace. (Written before City of Heavenly Fire)
1. Chapter 1

Clarissa Morgenstern woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. This was it, today was the day she was going to go live at the institute in Manhattan, New York with her parents' friends, the Lightwoods.

She got dressed in black skinny jeans, knee high lace up boots and an orange short sleeved blouse, then went downstairs for her last morning with her family.

"Hey," said her brother, Jonathan, from the dining room table. Her mother, Jocelyn, and her father, Valentine, were there, too.

"Morning," said Clary.

"Are you fully packed?" asked Jocelyn, a piece of cinnamon toast in hand.

Clary nodded. Her dark brown leather luggage set was sitting on her bedroom floor, ready to be taken out.

Valentine smiled, "Good. Are you excited?"

Clary nodded. She sat at the closest seat, next to her brother, and took a plate from the stack that had been laid out, and took a piece of bread from the sitting out loaf, and popped it into the toaster that was sitting on the table, still warm from it's last use.

"You're sure you want to do this then?" asked Jonathan. "You can still change your mind."

Clary was offered the opportunity to go to Manhattan and live at the institute by Valentine. He'd thought it would be good for her and her brother to get out, and make friends, see the world, and get some demon killing experience. Jonathan had turned it down, having zero interest in leaving their secluded mansion in Idris. Clary, on the other hand, was lonely, and disliked always losing in the training sessions with Jonathan- not that she thought she'd do better elsewhere, but all Jonathan ever wanted to do was train with her. She found most of her free time occupied by drawing. "I'm sure."

"You've got everything?" asked Jocelyn. "Coat? Toothbrush? Stele?"

Clary looked at her luggage and her green velvet coat that she'd put on. "Yes, yes and yes," the sun had just gone down, and everything was lit by witchlight.

Jocelyn was getting a little teary. She gave Clary one last hug.

Valentine- who was standing next to Jocelyn- gave her a bit of a smile. "You be good. Don't forget your training, and remember what I taught you."

Clary nodded.

Jonathan wrapped his slightly muscular arms around her, "Write me," he said quietly in her ear. She could hear he was trying not to cry, but he wouldn't let their parents see- especially not Valentine.

"Alright," she whispered back, smiling. Jonathan had always been a good brother underneath his tough outer persona.

"Ready?" Asked Ragnor Fell, their family's most trusted Warlock friend.

Clary nodded and picked up her bags.

Fell aimed his hands at the outer wall of their house, and a giant doorway appeared.

Clary walked up to the portal and looked over her shoulder, "Bye," she said, then she stepped through.

It felt weird, Clary thought, to go through a portal. It felt like you got whirled around and spit out.

Clary saw a man waiting for her. He was Asian, and had spiky black hair with glitter in it, and he wore tight black leather pants with a blue army coat.

"Are you-"

"Magnus Bane," he said, "High warlock of Brooklyn. You're Clarissa Morgenstern?"

Clary nodded.

"Follow me."

Clary followed Magnus to the tall gates that said 'institute' on the front, and opened it with a key. She marveled at the glamoured building, disguised as an abandoned church. She followed him through the front door and into an old looking gated elevator. When the doors opened, he gestured for her to step out. She did, and he closed the gate behind her.

There was a woman waiting there for her. She had long black hair, and amazing blue eyes. There were two black haired teenagers behind her, one male, one female.

"You must be Clarissa," she said warmly. "You look just like Jocelyn did when she was your age. I'm Maryse Lightwood, and these are my children, Alec and Isabelle," She gestured to the teenagers.

The boy- Alec, had the same blue eyes as his mother, but not the same friendly expression. He seemed mildly cold, and stiffly nodded at her when he was gestured to.

The girl- Isabelle, was beautiful. She had long, straight black hair and black eyes. She was tall, too, and wore the highest heels Clary had ever seen. "Nice to meet you," she said. She seemed a little friendly, but not quite as friendly as her mother.

"You must be tired," said Maryse.

Truthfully, Clary wasn't that tired, but she just nodded politely.

"Isabelle? Will you show Clarissa to her room?"

"Clary," she corrected.

Maryse smiled and nodded towards Isabelle. "Clary, then. Isabelle, please show Clary to her room."

Isabelle nodded, "Follow me," she said.

Clary followed Isabelle down the hall, and into one of the doors.

The room was nice. Almost as nice as her room in Idris. She set her bags down, marveling at how formal and fancy it was.

"Bathroom's there," said Isabelle, pointing at a door that connected to her room. "Anything else I can get you?"

Clary shook her head, "Thank you," she said.

"Okay, call me if you need anything," with that said, she left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

Clary wasn't the slightest bit tired- she'd stayed up much later in Idris- so she unpacked her bags and put all of her belongings away. Then when she was done, she showered. After that, she sat on her new bed with her sketchpad and a pencil. She sketched what she remembered of the front of the institute, and by the time she was done, she felt tired. She burrowed under the covers, and went to sleep.

Clary woke up to the sunlight that poured through her window. She panicked momentarily before remembering where she was. She sat up and looked at the sunlight that was coming through her curtains.

'Morning sleepy head,' was something her mother would say when she came to wake her up in the morning. She half expected her to come in now.

Clary crawled out of the large king sized bed and up to the closet and pulled out an ocean blue knee length dress. She showered, and upon getting out, remembered that she had done so the previous night.

The dress was complimenting to her slight figure. It was slim fitting at the top, short sleeved, and loose at the skirt portion, and the color went well with her carroty curls. She paired it with shiny black ballet flats.

She cautiously opened the door and poked her head out. The hall was empty. She stepped out and gently clicked the door shut behind her.

She wandered down the hall for a few minutes, walking around and exploring. She was now thoroughly lost. She had found the hall again- or a hall that looked just like it- but wasn't sure which room was her's. She walked up and down the hall for a few minutes, trying to trigger a memory that would help her remember which room Isabelle had led her to the night before.

"Oh good, you're up."

Clary spun around to see Isabelle.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you," Clary didn't know what else to say.

"Good. Are you hungry?" asked Isabelle.

Clary was suddenly aware of her empty stomach and nodded.

"Come on, I'll show you where the kitchen's at."

Clary followed Isabelle to the kitchen. Maryse and Alec were there, as well as a short boy- who looked about ten- with brown hair and glasses, and rather attractive boy- who looked like a teenager- with golden blonde hair and eye catching gold eyes.

"Are you going to introduce me?" Asked the blonde boy.

"Jace, this is Clarissa Morgenstern. Clary, this is Jason Herondale, he lives here, too," said Isabelle.

"Nice to meet you, Clary," said Jace.

"Likewise."

"I'm Max," said the small boy. Clary noticed he had a manga in hand.

"And this is my little brother, Max," Said Isabelle.

Maryse looked over her shoulder at Clary from her work on the stove. "Clary, would you like some pancakes?"

Clary nodded. "Yes, please," Clary noticed out of the corner of her eye that Jace was staring at her, she wondered why.

* * *

**My name is Wisterian Princess- or, at least it was when I was writing this. I'm going to try and publish a new chapter every Sunday.**

**If you have any requests for me to write, please write it in the comments section and let me know.**

**Also, please let me know if I've made any grammar mistakes or misspellings, gotten concepts wrong, etc.**

**Constructive criticism is welcome, but not things like "Your book sucks."**

**Thank you.**

**P.S. If I do take your suggestions, they will probably show up later because I've already written several chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

"How good are you?" Asked Isabelle.

"What do you mean?" Asked Clary.

"Like, at fighting. How good are you at fighting?"

Clary, Isabelle, Alec and Jace were in the training room. They had all changed into comfortable clothes- Clary was in a slim fitting gray t-shirt with black sweats.

"I'm not that good. When Jonathan and I would train, I always lost," Clary admitted.

"Okay. Alec, go easy on her, will you?" said Isabelle.

Alec shrugged. He took one of the training swords- covered with leather to prevent serious injury- and handed another to Clary.

Isabelle and Jace stood back, watching them.

Clary took a stance. Alec lunged at her, and swung the blade. Clary deflected it easily on instinct.

Alec's eyes widened, and he swung again. Clary used her blade to put his to the floor, and kicked his handle. His weapon dropped, and his eyes were wide.

These events were only a few seconds long.

"I thought you said you weren't that good," Said Isabelle.

"He was going easy on me," Clary said at the same time as Alec said-

"I was going easy on her."

"Okay, don't go easy," said Isabelle.

Clary stepped away from Alec's weapon. He picked it up off the floor, looking disgruntled.

Alec took a fast swing at her. She jumped aside, a bit startled by how fast it was. She quickly recovered, and made a move. He deflected it, looking shocked. He swung at her legs, and she jumped over his sword, and as his sword was still low, she struck his right side forearm.

"Wow," Said Jace. "Who thought it'd be so easy to beat Alec."

Alec looked slightly angered now. He swung at her then, and she deflected it. He came at her again and again, Clary deflecting or dodging every time. Alec's anger seemed to fuel his speed, but Clary's instincts took over. She felt the familiar rush that came with a fight- even if it was just for training- and Alec was much easier than fighting Jonathan- who somehow always knew how she would attack or deflect and ended up hitting her anyway, leaving her bruised and sometimes bloody.

Alec's attacks had her backing up each swing, eventually, she was right next to the wall. She ducked as his covered blade stabbed the wall. She swung from underneath and hit his blade at the base. It flew out of his hand, and she stood and gently touched the tip of her blade to his heart. Alec looked appalled while panting. Clary was panting, too, but not as hard.

Jace whistled.

"Now _that's_ impressive," said Isabelle.

"I thought you said you weren't any good," said Alec, visibly angry.

"I-"

"Clary said she'd always lost against her brother," said Isabelle. "If you are the loser in all your battles with him, I never want to get on his bad side."

Clary smiled at Isabelle.

Alec stormed out the door.

Jace picked up the blade and looked over at Clary, "You want to give it a go?"

Clary shrugged, "Sure."

Isabelle walked to the other side of the room to practice with throwing daggers.

Clary walked back to the center of the room. Jace stalked tauntingly towards her, smirking.  
"Ready?" he asked.

Clary took her stance and readied her weapon. "Yeah."

Jace- like Alec- would walk towards her as he swung. Clary easily deflected his attacks, and putting in some of her own. He deflected and dodged her attacks easily, too, looking impressed more and more as their battle went on.

It had been a long one. They were both panting and sweating and they danced about the room. They went behind and around the weapon stashes, and even passed Isabelle- who shooed them away- annoyed.

About twenty minutes of this, and Jace finally knocked the blade from Clary's fingers. It clattered to the floor, and Jace put his blade to Clary's throat. Clary- feeling exhausted- fell backwards as her knees gave way. Jace's close proximity caused his to fall on top of her, and she gave a grunt as his heavyweight crushed her ribs.

"Got you," Said Jace between pants.

Clary's hand crept across the cold hardwood floor, and found her dropped sword. She clutched it and brought it up to the back of his neck. "I got you, too," she said triumphantly.

He smirked and chuckled. "Well done, Morgenstern."

Clary showered for the second time that day. She then decided that she would shower the night before, and after training.

Clary dressed in a loose red blouse with a visible black lace tank top underneath, and black, slim fitted velvet pants.

She then realised that her bed had been made, and her towels restocked. She would have to thank Mrs. Lightwood later.

She sat down at her desk and pulled out a piece of paper and begun writing.

_Dear Jonathan,_

_Today is my first day at the Lightwoods' institute in New York._

_The institute is beautiful. On the outside, it's glamoured as an abandoned church, but the looks remind me of a French palace. The inside is full of red and dark wood and paintings of angels._

_The people are nice, too. Mrs. Lightwood is very friendly, and she's a good cook. Her daughter, Isabelle, is nice, too. Though, her older brother, Alec, seems like he doesn't like me. There's also another boy living here, Jace Herondale. He's nice, too._

_We did a training session today, and I went up against Alec first. Alec and I went for no more than a few minutes, and I was surprised when I'd beaten him every time. Jace and I went next. He was harder to beat. We seemed about equally matched, in my opinion. We fought for a while, and I think we tied at the end, but he had me first._

_I'll write again when more happens._

_Sincerely,_

_Clarissa Adele Morgenstern_

Clary sealed the newly written letter into an envelope, and burned it.

* * *

"Ha! I beat you again!" Exclaimed Maia, video game controller in the air as she announced her victory.

"You know, it's cheating if you shove me," said Simon.

"Well, I didn't shove you the other three times."

Simon rolled his eyes. He'd recently found out he wasn't as great at playing halo as he thought.

A small beep came from Maia's pocket. She pulled out her cell phone. "Hey, Jordan wants to meets us at a club. You wanna go?"

Simon shrugged. He wasn't that big on the whole nightclub scene in general, but Maia and Jordan loved it.

Jordan, Maia and Simon had all been friends for a while. They all had a common liking for video games, and liked to hang out at night- mostly for Simon, him not being able to go in the sun because he's a vampire and all- and Maia and Jordan were not only a couple, but a werewolf couple.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Maia, texting Jordan.

"Which one?" Asked Simon.

"Oh. Pandemonium."

* * *

Clary walked toward her bedroom door after sending the firemail. She opened the door to see Jace standing right outside, about to knock on her door.

"Oh," Clary wasn't expecting him to be there.

"We're going demon hunting. You wanna join us?"

"Um... Sure," Clary had never been demon hunting before, but this was what she'd been training for.

"Alright. Are you gonna wear that?" He gestured to her outfit.

She looked down at herself. "No. I'll change. Should I just wear gear?"

"Um... I'll send Isabelle to answer that question. See you in a few minutes," he began to walk away.

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Isabelle knocked on her door. She was wearing a tight, leather mini dress with a black lace over shirt that covered her rune covered arms and high heel boots that made her tower over Clary. She walked in. "What do you have?"

"Um," Clary gestured to her closet.

Isabelle threw it open and sifted through the hangers.

"I've also got things in my dresser."

Isabelle shut the closet and opened the dresser drawer. She dug through her pants drawer. She looked over at Clary, "Is that tank top a different shirt from the one you're wearing over it?"

"... Yeah..."

Isabelle shut the pants drawer and opened the shirts drawer. She pulled out a black, long sleeved shirt with a boat neck, and held it up to Clary. "Can you try this on over the tank top?"

"Um, sure," Clary took the shirt and walked into the bathroom. The shirt was slim fitted and a little long on her, and the wide neck showed her inch thick lace tank top straps.

She walked out of the bathroom and saw Isabelle sitting on the bed with a pair of boots, a belt and tights sitting next to her.

Isabelle stood up and walked up to Clary. She pulled the sleeves off of either shoulder and pulled the end down. It now appeared to be a very short dress. "Now, take off the pants and put these on," Isabelle took the tights off the bed and handed them to her. It was now clear that they weren't hers.

"But-"

"Go change," Isabelle encouraged.

Clary did as she was told. She felt exposed in the black, lace tights. When she came out again, Isabelle nodded approvingly.

"Okay. Sit here-" she gestured to the bed, "And put the boots on."

Clary zipped up the boots. "Um... I don't think I'll be able to walk in these..." Clary attempted to stand up, and gripped the bed's post to balance herself. The heels were six inches high with two inches of platform.

"Those are the smallest heels I have," said Isabelle. "Besides, you look cute."

"... I look like a hooker."

"No you don't, you look ready to kill some demons."

"... How am I supposed to kill demons in stilts? And why can't I just wear gear?"

"We're going to Pandemonium. It's a nightclub, so we need to blend in."

"And there are _demons_ at this nightclub?"

"Yes. It's actually a common hang out for demons and downworlders."

"Oh."

"Now, makeup," Isabelle picked up a makeup bag that Clary had somehow missed.

Clary's hair had a little glitter in it, and the amount of makeup on her face made her look like a different person. She looked beautiful. Isabelle had transformed her into someone else.

"One last thing," said Isabelle. She put a black shiny belt around Clary's waist. "Now your done. Let's go."

"Oh, my stele," Clary took her stele off her nightstand from next to her sketchpad. She tried to put it into her belt, but Isabelle made her put it in her boot.

They walked down the hall, and into the weapons room. Jace and Alec were there in shadowhunter gear, picking weapons and putting them into their boots and belts.

When they came in, Jace turned and stared at Clary. Clary worried that she didn't pull off this look.

"Doesn't she look _amazing_?" Said Isabelle. "Okay, let's get you some weapons."

Isabelle handed Clary a dagger. "Put this in your boot," she also handed her a sword. "This one's called 'Jehoel'."

"Jehoel," Clary repeated, taking the seraph blade and putting it in her belt. She reached into her boot and pulled out her stele. She pulled up her left sleeve, and drew on some runes. She attempted to draw some on her right arm, but found it difficult- because she was right handed.

"Here," Jace took the stele from her hand and started drawing it for her.

She blushed at his proximity. "Thanks," After he finished, she put her stele back into her boot and pulled her sleeves down to conceal the runes.

* * *

Simon was waiting in line to get into Pandemonium with Maia. Neither of them had changed from their jeans and t-shirts to come here- Simon wasn't much of a club person and Maia was just casual.

"Simon! Maia!" Simon turned to see Jordan coming up to the line.

"Jordan!" Maia ran over to him and kissed him.

Simon looked away. Ever since Maia and Jordan started dating, Simon always felt like a third wheel.

A couple of people in line wolf whistled at them, but they ignored them.

They both came back to where Simon was waiting in line.

"What's up?" Asked Jordan.

Simon shrugged. "The usual."

"He sucks at playing halo," said Maia.

"I don't '_suck_', I just _may_ not as good as you are, apparently."

Maia giggled.

Maia and Jordan were on the dance floor, dancing.

Simon was leaning against a support post, looking around the room. There were all sorts of exotic looking people around. People in costumes with their hair unnatural colors.

Simon and Maia had been friends for awhile. They'd met when he was human, and started hanging out. It had been about a year, then he got turned. Maia found out- and after briefly freaking out- helped him by bringing him bottles of animal blood. Maia also revealed to him her world, and that she was a werewolf.

Later, Jordan Kyle- who had become the singer for his band- offered him to live at his two bedroom apartment.

One day, as Maia was over playing video games, Jordan came home, and Maia tried to kill him. Simon stopped her and found out the whole story.

Maia had forgiven Jordan for turning her, and now they were dating.

Simon was taken out of his flashbacks when he saw a demon. He looked human, but he definitely wasn't. Simon's super vampire senses could smell that garbagey demon smell from halfway across the club. He saw he had his eyes on someone, and followed his gaze. He was looking at a girl. She looked kind of lost, and was looking around, not really doing anything.

The demon started making his way towards her.

Simon looked at the girl again. She had long, curly red hair, and she wore a short black dress with tights and boots. She looked slightly uncomfortable in her ensemble- like she didn't usually wear this sort of thing. She also looked like she'd never been to a nightclub before, looking almost scared- with the flashing lights and loud music that made Pandemonium what it was. She also looked tiny, and fragile.

Simon made his way toward her. He got to her just before the blue haired demon did.

"Wanna dance?" he asked.

She looked a little confused, as if she had been concentrating on something else, and had been unaware of her surroundings. "What?"

He took her hand. "Let's dance," he pulled her to the dance floor, and started dancing- poorly.

"I really shouldn't. I came here with some friends, and... and... You're a vampire."

Simon stopped dancing, his eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"I'm a shadowhunter, I have a trained eye."

"_Shadowhunter_?" Maia had told him about shadowhunters. They kill demons and keep downworlders in check. Maia had also said they didn't socialize with downworlders, but this girl seemed completely fine with it. It was then when Simon noticed her seraph blade in her belt. "I probably didn't need to save you from that demon, then."

Her eyes widened and she quickly looked around. "Demon? Where?"

Simon scanned the crowd for the blue haired boy. He found him and pointed. "The boy over there with the blue hair," Simon then realized he was talking to another girl- one with black hair.

The red haired girl he was dancing with started towards them, and Simon followed. She paused when they were several feet away, and stuck her arm out to stop Simon as well.

Simon could hear the demon's conversation with the girl. She was laughing at something he'd said.

"I'm Isabelle, by the way," She smiled, fiddling with the gold bracelet on her right wrist. Isabelle glanced in his direction, and pulled down the black lace collar. She exposed some black tattoo on her neck and the demon gasped.

The blue haired demon turned to run away, but Isabelle was faster. She took her bracelet from her wrist- which turned out not to be a bracelet at all, but a whip- and struck it forward. It wrapped around his ankle, and he fell to the ground.

"Clary!" Said Isabelle, looking at him again.

Simon realized- as the red haired girl ran from his side, towards the demon- that she hadn't been looking at him, but at her.

The red haired girl- Clary, he guessed- drew the blade from her belt. "_Jehoel_," she said. Her blade glowed to life, and she stabbed the demon.

It screamed, and coiled into itself, disappearing.

* * *

**Sunday has finally come! Check in next Sunday for chapter 3!**

**Look for sneak peaks into the next chapters at my website, .com**

**Enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I didn't post till late :/ I'll throw in an extra treat, I'll post an additional chapter today :)**

* * *

Simon stared at Clary as she tossed her long red curls out of her face. She looked so small. How could she be capable of mercilessly stabbing someone, even if it was a demon, he looked human?

He looked at her again. She was saving people, he thought. She was saving possibly dozens of peoples' lives by killing that demon.

Two boys came up to them. They were in identical black outfits, both carrying weapons. One had blonde hair, and one had black, and they were both covered in tattoos.

"Did you two get the demon?" Said the blonde one. "It just disappeared from the tracker."

"Clary got it," said Isabelle.

"Not really. I just did the final blow. Isabelle did most of it," Clary seemed self conscious about her victory.

The blonde boy smirked. "You seem to keep surprising me," was Simon feeling... Jealous? He didn't even know this girl, how could he be jealous of this other guy?

Clary blushed. She seemed to remember Simon, and looked over at him. "I'll be right back," she said to them. They all watched as she came up to Simon. "I owe you thanks," she said.

"Not at all. Happy to help," said Simon.

"I'm Clary, by the way."

"I'm Simon."

"So, I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah. See you around," they made eye contact briefly, and Simon looked into her pretty green eyes.

She gave a little wave as she walked away.

* * *

"Done flirting?" Asked Isabelle as Clary came back to her group.

"I wasn't flirting," said Clary. "Just saying 'thanks'."

"For terribly dancing with you?" asked Jace, teasing her.

Clary blushed, realizing he'd been watching her that whole time.

Jace held his hand out toward her. "While we're here, would you like to dance?"

Alec stiffened.

"Um..." Clary had never been a very good dancer, but it sounded like fun. "Okay," she placed her hand in his, and he led her to the dance floor.

Clary had taken her third shower that day. She finally got the last of the glitter out of her hair, and was now in a sky blue tank top and black shorts.

She sat at her desk and pulled out a piece of paper. She decided she'd write Jonathan at the end of the day rather than the middle.

Clary had felt like she'd been there for a lot longer than one day already.

_Dear Jonathan,_

_I realize this is my second letter to you today, but as soon as the last one was sent, more things happened._

_I went demon hunting with Isabelle, Jace and Alec. For some reason, the demon was at a nightclub, so Isabelle lent me some things, and we went._

_When I was there, I met a vampire named Simon. He was kind of nice. He tried to save me from a demon before he knew I was a shadowhunter and was looking for it._

_Isabelle eventually caught the demon, and I delivered the final blow._

_After being congratulated, Jace asked me to dance. We danced for what felt like hours, and he's a good dancer, too._

_Also, I noticed that when Jace asked me to dance, Alec flinched. Maybe he likes Jace?_

_I'll write you again tomorrow night._

_With love,_

_Clarissa Adele Morgenstern_

Clary woke up to the sound of knocking at her door.

"Clary? Are you awake?" Isabelle's voice came through Clary's door.

Clary sat up. "Yes."

"Get ready and come out! Come on!"

Clary stumbled out of bed.

"Oh, and dress for training," Said Isabelle. "Everyone else is in the training room. You remember where it is?"

"Yeah. Sort of."

"Great. See you in a few," and with that, Isabelle left.

Clary dressed in a green tank top and black sweats.

She got a little lost at first, but then she heard the sounds of weapons being used and taunting from- it sounded like- Jace.

Clary finally found the training room, and walked through the door. Jace and Alec were having a duel with the leather covered swords. Isabelle was at the back of the room, sharpening a dagger.

Jace noticed she'd entered the room, and looked at her for a few seconds. He looked like he was about to say something, but Alec's training sword slashed him across the chest.

Jace looked surprised, like he'd forgotten Alec was there.

Despite his victory, Alec looked upset. "Get your head in the game! If I were a _demon_, I would have _killed_ you!"

"Well, you're obviously not a demon, so you didn't."

Alec seemed more angered by his comment. He swung at Jace again, and went into another battle.

"Morning, Clary," Said Isabelle. "How'd you sleep?"

"I slept well, thank you."

Isabelle frowned. "Why are you always so formal?"

Clary shrugged. "I guess because my parents raised me like that," Clary came into the room and went around Jace and Alec's duel to Isabelle.

"Is that how your brother is, too?"

Clary shrugged. "Not around me," she half joked.

Isabelle smirked. "What's he like?"

Clary picked up a dagger and weighed it in her hands for a moment. "I don't know. He's funny, strong, overprotective..." Clary threw the dagger at one of the targets. It stuck in right next to the center. She cursed under her breath.

"He sounds nice," Said Isabelle. She stood up, now with a sharpened dagger, she threw it at the target. It landed just outside of Clary's. Isabelle pretended not to notice. "Do you miss him?"

"Yeah," Clary sighed. She _did_ miss Jonathan- more than she thought she would, and it had only been two days.

Clary picked up another dagger. She concentrated on the center of the target and took a deep breath. She stepped forward as she threw it. It hit the center.

"Well done," Said Isabelle.

Clary saw one of the training swords fly in front of her face and let out a sound of surprise.

She looked over at a panting, swordless Alec, on his back. Jace had his sword at Alec's chest.

"Got you again," Jace gloated. "Clary? You want to give it a go?" He was looking at Clary now.

Alec was glaring at her, and clearly panting more than Jace.

"Um..." Clary was watching Alec, glaring at her as if his eyes were daggers, hurtling toward her.

"Come on. Scared of getting beat by me again?"

Clary's sight turned to Jace. His golden eyes were staring tauntingly at her. "I'm pretty sure that was a _tie_," Clary said playfully.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alec. He could have been breathing fire. Clary decided she didn't care.

"Okay," she got the discarded training sword that had flown by her face.

Jace took the point of his away from Alec's chest.

They both walked to the middle of the room.

Alec went by Isabelle, and began intently sharpening daggers.

"Ready?" Clary asked, taking stance.

"Always," Jace came at her first, and she deflected easily.

* * *

Jonathan had gotten firemail from Clary late last night. He'd read it. After doing do, he found it hard to get back to sleep. He kept thinking of this other boy, dancing with Clary.

Jonathan was very overprotective of Clary, he always had been. Once, when their family was visiting Alicante, a girl, Aline Penhallow, had tried to talk to Clary, but Jonathan had told her to get lost. And on their most recent trip, he'd overheard a Jonathan Wayland talking to his friends about how hot Clary was, and how he was going to talk to her, but when he tried, Jonathan had told him to get lost, too, using their family name to ward them off.

The Morgensterns were a pretty important family among the shadowhunter world. Valentine had a lot of powerful friends and wealth, and his family was highly respected. It did come in handy. Valentine usually let Jonathan and Clary do whatever they wanted. Jonathan was sure Clary had no idea that Jonathan had been warding off all these people all these years.

Although Jonathan would never admit it, there were selfish reasons for his 'protecting' Clary. He didn't want her to leave him behind. She was the only friend that he had, and he was afraid he'd no longer be the most important person in her life. All those times, leaving Clary wounded in training sessions was to make her stronger. According to her letter, it _had_ made her stronger. And even when he'd beaten her in battle, he always quickly drew an iratz to heal her cuts and bruises. Clary was the most important person in the world to him, and he didn't want her to get hurt, but even more, he didn't want to lose her.

* * *

Clary collapsed behind the sword stand, panting hard. Jace bent down and put his hands on his knees. Their battle had been going on for a long time now, and every time it looked like one of them had the other, they made a comeback. They were both exhausted and sweaty now, hair sticking to the back of their necks, clothes glued to their skin.

Isabelle watched in amusement, and Alec was throwing daggers at the target again and again, trying to hit the center- thought his anger was probably what was stopping him from doing so.

"Give up yet?" Asked Jace between pants.

"Not a chance," the words sounded more like a wheeze coming out of Clary's mouth. She stood up, and readied her sword, still panting, heart beating fast.

Jace readied himself, too.

Clary came out from behind the sword stand and lashed out. They went back into their duel. A few minutes later, Clary knocked the sword out of his hands and pointed her sword at his chest. They both heaved.

"I win," said Clary, barely audibly.

Jace- faster than Clary could notice what was happening- went around her sword, gripped her right hand to hold her sword handle, put his hand on her back to keep her from moving away, and put her own sword to her throat. "You sure about that?"

Clary was sure she would have been able to stop him if she hadn't been so exhausted. They were both still panting hard, both breathless. They stayed in this position for several seconds before Isabelle cleared her throat.

They both looked at Isabelle- who was watching them with an amused expression. "Are you two finally done? Clary must be hungry."

Clary's stomach growled on que.

Jace backed away from her, and went to retrieve the sword that had been thrown aside.

Clary put her sword away, and they all headed to the kitchen.

"Next time, let's see if you can beat _me_," said Isabelle to Clary, eating leftover Chinese out of a takeout container with chopsticks.

Clary had pulled her hair into a ponytail, keeping it from sticking to her still sweaty face. "You're _on_," she said, taking a bite of the apple she had in hand.

Alec stabbed his fork into a piece of broccoli from a container of fried rice.

Jace smirked at Clary's challenge.

Maryse Lightwood walked in. "Hello, children. How was training?" She sat down at the table with a leftover container and a pair of chopsticks.

"Clary's _amazing_," said Isabelle. "She beat _Jace_."

"I wouldn't say '_beat_'," said Jace. "I think we tied."

Clary stifled a giggle. That was exactly what she'd said about yesterday's training session.

"Impressive," said Maryse. "You've got talent, Clary."

Clary blushed at the attention.

Alec gouged a piece of chicken from his container.

"Clary's facing me tomorrow," said Isabelle.

"If she could _tie_ with me, then she'll _beat_ you," said Jace.

Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Last night Clary finished off a demon, too," said Jace.

"Isabelle did most of it," said Clary, uncomfortable with so much praise. She'd always been the worst in her house, she wasn't used to being the best.

"I hate to admit this, but I couldn't have done it without you," said Isabelle.

Alec noisily stood up, took his container. "Excuse me," then he left the room.

"What's with him?" Asked Maryse.

Jace shrugged, taking another bite of food.

Clary took the last bite of her apple, and excused herself. "I'll be right back," Clary went to the kitchen to throw out the core, then ran out the door after Alec. She caught up to him in the hall. "Alec!"

Alec turned and glared at her. "Came to gloat?"

"Why don't you like me?" Asked Clary, ignoring what he'd said. "What did I do wrong?"

Alec scoffed. "As if you don't know, with your pretend embarrassment at being talented, and you're pretending not to notice when people like you," he spat. "You've been here two days, and you're already the new favorite."

"Wait, _what_?" Clary was kind of surprised. She wasn't pretending anything. She actually didn't think about talent, she'd always been the loser, and she wasn't used to being good at anything- not that her family didn't support her, but she'd never been the talent of the family- and, what was that about not noticing that people like her? Wait, it wasn't possible that he liked her, was it? No, he liked Jace...

"_Favorite_?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "Don't pretend you don't notice."

"Well, I'm not, and I'm sorry if I don't noticing things, but why can't you just be a man and admit that you're in love with Jace?"

Alec grabbed her by the throat and pushed her up against the wall. She was so surprised, that she did nothing. "If you _ever_ say _anything_ like that again, I will _kill_ you," he said the words slowly. He let her go, and she fell to the floor, coughing.

He stormed off.

Clary had suddenly lost her appetite.

* * *

**Playlist I made for If Valentine were Good:**

01.) In my City - Ellie Goulding

02.) You Will be Mine - Lenka

03.) All Around the World - ATC

04.) Friend or Foe - t.A.T.u

05.) Love you More - Pierces

06.) Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Rey

07.) Diet Mountain Dew - Lana Del Rey

08.) Demons - Imagine Dragons

09.) What Game is This - Billie Piper

10.) Drumming - Florence + the Machine

11.) Loves me not - t.A.T.u

12.) Blue Jeans - Lana Del Rey

13.) Are you gonna be my girl - Jet


	4. Chapter 4

That night, Clary had a dream. She was standing in an empty plain- empty except for the thin layer of snow as far as she could see- and saw a figure walking towards her in the distance.

It became clearer as the figure got closer, that he was a he. He didn't have on a shirt, and he had wings- white wings, like and angel. Clary stood still, unmoving, and stared at him.

He came closer. Clary could see who it was now- it was Jace. His gold hair was shimmering in the sunlight. He came closer, and Clary saw he had no shoes, either, just black pants.

He stopped about a foot away from her. There was a trail of bare footprints that he'd left behind in the snow. He looked down at her from his tall height. "Clary," he said her name, and it sounded angelic coming from his lips. "Clary, wake up," he stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder, shaking her. "Clary."

Clary's eyes opened. Jace was standing over her, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. Clary blinked. "Jace?"

"It's ten," he smirked. "You sleep late, you know that?"

Clary sat up- she was mildly embarrassed that he was seeing her in her pajama shorts and tank top. "I'm aware," it didn't matter what time zone she was in, or where she was, but she'd always slept late. Her mother had come to wake her up every morning.

"Come on, before Maryse realises I didn't let you sleep in."

Clary stopped mid-yawn. "Why not?"

"Because you'd have been up at noon, now up, we're training at eleven, you should eat breakfast first. It's the most important meal of the day," with that, he left the room, pausing in the doorway to look over his shoulder before closing the door.

Clary dressed in black sweats with a gray waistband and a green tank top- the shade of which brought out her eyes- and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Clary realised- while looking at her reflection in the full length mirror- that she'd forgotten to write Jonathan the night before. She had showered, then gone straight to bed after the incident with Alec. While she was in the shower, she decided that that incident would remain secret- though she wouldn't desire to be alone with him again.

When Clary got to the kitchen, Maryse was cooking something that smelled deliciously of butter.

"Clary! Your up! Good. Everyone's in the dining room eating french toast if you want to join them," said Maryse.

Clary smiled. "Thanks. And thank you for... Everything."

Maryse smiled again. "Not at all. My pleasure."

Clary walked into the dining room, where Jace, Isabelle, Alec and Max were seated.

"Morning," said Jace, winking at her. "Did you sleep well?"

Clary smiled inwardly at this. "I've had better nights," she said.

Isabelle looked at her curiously, clearly having no idea what they were talking about.

Alec seemed to be holding his breath. As soon as Clary remembered why he would be, her smile faded.

Isabelle gestured to the seat across from her and next to Jace. "Please, sit."

Clary sat, and began serving herself some french toast. She looked over at Max, sitting on Jace's left, reading a manga titled 'Fullmetal Alchemist'.

"That one's a good one," said Clary. It took everyone a second to realise she was talking to Max.

When Max realised it himself, he looked up. "What?"

"I've read that one," said Clary, gesturing at the manga in his hands. "It's one of my favorites."

Max seemed to beam at this. "You read _manga_?"

"Yeah. I've read lots of manga. Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, you name it."

Jace and Isabelle looked at her in confusion.

Max looked absolutely beaming.

Just then, Maryse walked in with a plate of french toast. She set the plate down on the table and sat next to Alec and across Max. She served herself a piece of french toast, then looked around and realised the expressions of everyone. Max beaming, Alec looking slightly frightened, slightly confused, and Jace and Isabelle looking amused.

"Did I miss something?" Asked Maryse.

"Clary reads manga," said Max, sounding hypnotized.

Maryse looked at Clary. "Do you, now?" There was a slight curiosity in her voice.

Clary nodded.

Jace took another piece of french toast, smirking.

"I've never met anyone else who read manga besides Max," said Maryse.

Clary shrugged.

Clary blocked another of Isabelle's attempts to hit her with the training sword. Isabelle came again, and Clary deflected it. Isabelle and Clary had been in a training duel for about ten minutes, and in all that time, Clary had not once try to strike her- she'd only been playing defence, giving Isabelle the chance to get her, but she had not done so. Clary wasn't sure why she was doing this- maybe for Isabelle's training? Or maybe it was because Isabelle had been so nice to Clary over the past few days.

"Come on," said Isabelle. "Fight _back_! It's boring if you don't _try_."

Clary immediately knocked the sword from Isabelle's hands and put the sword to her chest.

Isabelle looked surprised.

Clary took the sword away from her chest. "Wanna go again?"

Isabelle was a little sweaty, having been the one doing all the work. She was wearing a v-necked red tank top, a black skirt that flowed out when she turned, and eight inch heeled boots. She picked up the sword from the ground. "Let's go," she walked back into the center of the room.

Alec and Jace were where Isabelle usually was when Clary was fighting Jace. Alec was aiming arrows at a target, hitting the center each time. Jace was sharpening a dagger, watching Clary and Isabelle ruefully.

Isabelle swung first, and Clary deflected. They fought a few more minutes, then Jace said-

"She's going easy on you, Iz!"

Clary glanced at him out of the corner of her eye for a brief second before putting her attention back on her battle.

"_Are_ you?" asked Isabelle, clearly offended.

"... How can you tell?" Clary was looking at Isabelle, still deflecting and striking where she knew Isabelle would block her.

"I can see the way you're fighting," said Jace. "You're not actually trying to strike her like you were with me. I can see. Also, there's no _way_ Isabelle is as good as I am."

Isabelle frowned. "Why are you going easy? I won't learn if you don't fight properly."

"Okay," said Clary. "I won't go easy anymore," Clary went right up to Isabelle and knocked the sword from her hand by the base, then put the weapon to her throat.

Isabelle smiled. "Impressive."

Clary backed away. "Again?"

Isabelle nodded, getting the sword again.

"Okay, my turn," said Jace. He'd probably gotten bored from Clary and Isabelle's broken record of a training duel.

Clary had only taken a minute at most to knock the sword from Isabelle's hands, and she'd always wanted to go again.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Fine," she handed the training blade to Jace and Alec watched.

Jace came to the center of the room with Clary.

Clary was barely tired. Working with Isabelle had been fairly easy- easier than Jace, or Alec, or Jonathan...

Jace took the first move and Clary was jerked out of her thoughts. She deflected him, and went for a swing herself.

Clary could feels other eyes on her as her and Jace danced about the room with their fighting. She hadn't thought much about it before, but she really liked training with Jace. He was about equally matched to her- so the win was unpredictable- and he liked to move about the room, keeping the fight interesting.

Their covered blades crashed against each other. Clary grabbed Jace's wrist to keep him from moving it. He had the same Idea, his hand gripping her free wrist, too.

Isabelle cleared her throat.

Jace and Clary looked over at her.

"You're in the way. If you don't move, I'm going to throw daggers at you," said Isabelle, knives in hand.

Alec stood next to her, hands full of knives, too. They both looked annoyed, but Alec also looked angry. He was looking at Clary, and then Clary realised why he hated her: he was _jealous_.

Jace broke his hold on her and she turned her attention back to him.

_Dear Jonathan,_

_Sorry I didn't write last night, but I had a lot on my mind._

_I was right about Alec; he's definitely in love with Jace. When Jace and I were training together today, Alec looked annoyed, angry and jealous._

_Yesterday, I asked why Alec didn't like me, and he accused me of pretending, because, apparently, I'm pretty good at fighting, but I didn't know. Then, when I confronted him about liking Jace, he got mad. I haven't spoken to him since._

_In training today, I faced Isabelle for awhile. Every time I knocked the sword from her hands, she'd enthusiastically ask to go again._

_The youngest Lightwood's name is Max. I saw him reading a manga today- one of my favorites- and I feel bad that I forgot to mention him in my last letters..._

_Tomorrow, we're going demon hunting again, but not at a nightclub- thank god- and I'll write you what happens._

_With love,_

_Clarissa Adele Morgenstern_

* * *

**Please, feel free to let me know if you want me to write specific things, it would be helpful :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm going to start posting on Sundays and Wednesdays now. Thanks!**

**BTW, greygirl2358, yes, Jonathan is 'normal'. His father never experimented on him, so he's got no demon blood. He'd just a Shadowhunter.**

**Also, Jonathan is NOT in love with Clary. Just clarifying.**

* * *

Clary had been at the institute for two weeks now, and her first day habits had turned into a routine.

First, she'd always have to be woken up by Isabelle, Maryse- she'd insisted that she call her by her first name- or Jace. Then, she'd eat a big breakfast with everyone. She was sure that if she hadn't been having her twenty minute training sessions with Isabelle, followed by a half hour long training session with Jace daily, she'd have gotten bigger.

They'd go demon hunting about every other day, everyone in Shadowhunter gear except for Isabelle- she preferred skirts and heels. Clary had ended up showering two or three times per day- do to demon hunting and intensive training.

She'd also been writing Jonathan almost every night, and getting occasional responses, telling her about how his life was. Valentine had been training with him now that Clary was gone, and he found that Valentine didn't use the training swords- which made Jonathan hesitant- and he'd always end up losing. Clary pitied him in the back of her mind, wishing he were there with her.

Clary hadn't, however, admitted in her letters to her brother of her fondness of Jace. Clary had been walking down the hall early one evening, and heard beautiful music in the halls. She'd followed her ears to a large room lined with books, and a piano was off to one side, and Jace was playing it. It was then that Clary had admitted to herself that she liked him. That night, Clary had drawn Jace, the way she'd seen him in her dream the first morning he woke her up.

There had been nothing but silence between her and Alec, though, neither speaking to each other directly. Whenever they found themselves alone together, even for a moment, Alec would immediately leave. Once, when they were both in the training room, after one of Jace and Clary's show downs, Jace offered Alec the sword. Clary and Alec had both stiffened, and Alec declined.

"Afraid to get beaten again?" Jace taunted.

"Look at her," Alec hadn't looked at Clary when he gestured to her. "I don't think she could fight me if she wanted to."

It had been true. Clary was exhausted, sweaty and breathless.

Clary was in her pajamas, lounging in bed and sketching another picture of Jace. She was frustrated with herself for not being able to capture his perfection. He still looked incredibly attractive in her drawings, but they were never quite right. They always lacked something, but she could never guess what. She'd just finished shading under his cheekbone when she heard a knock on her door.

"Come in," she said automatically, expecting her brother.

When she saw who came in, she froze. "Jace?" She closed her sketch book and set in on her night stand. "What are you doing here?"

Jace was in jeans and a t-shirt- clearly not sleepwear- and Clary was, yet again, embarrassed that he was seeing her in her pajamas.

Jace smirked. "Nice to see you, too."

"No, I meant-"

"I know what you meant, I was joking," he shook his head lightly. "There's a demon crisis. You're free to stay and sleep, but I assumed you'd want to come."

Clary smiled. "You assume correct. I'll get ready."

Jace nodded and left.

Clary changed from her tank top and shorts into shadowhunter gear and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She drew the runes all up and down her arms and on her upper chest by her collar bone.

She met everyone in the weapons room. She had been in here lots of times by now, and she knew which ones to take when she went demon hunting. Jehoel, the seraph blade she had been using, a dagger to go in her boot, a concealed knife, and, of course, her stele in her boot (Isabelle had suggested that in the first place, and Clary had rather liked having it there).

"Ready?" Asked Jace.

Clary nodded.

"My pendant," said Isabelle, feeling at her neck. "Their here."

They were at an abandoned hospital which looked like it had been up and running in world war two. But now, half the windows were cracked, filthy or gone. A slight breeze came through the hall where they were walking, and Clary shivered.

"I can smell them," said Jace quietly.

Clary wrinkled her nose. She could smell demons in the air, too, the thick stench of garbage...

They were all holding witch lights, illuminating the dark, ice cold rooms.

Jace had a tracker in his left hand. He was staring at it. "According to this, we should be right on top of it."

"Maybe it's on the second or third floor," said Isabelle. "We should split up."

"I'll go with Jace," said Alec. He had a bow and arrows mounted on his back. "We'll take the second floor."

"Clary and I will take the third," said Isabelle.

Clary followed Isabelle up the two flights of stairs. It was even creepier upstairs than it was down.

"Clary," Isabelle whispered. "I think there's one near-"

Just then, a demon that resembled an octopus lept out at them making a dreadful snarling noise and it tried to grab them with it's tentacles.

Isabelle- who was in front- lept back just in time and uncoiled her whip from around her wrist. She struck the end of one of the tentacles, detaching it from the rest.

The demon seemed to scream. It was a dreadful sound.

Clary drew her seraph blade and said it's name. She went around Isabelle and slashed off another tentacle as it attempted to grab her.

It screamed again and Clary silenced it by stabbing it's giant head. It coiled into itself, leaving behind greenish yellow slime and black ichor.

"Well done," said Isabelle.

"Thanks," Clary muttered.

They continued down the hall.

"So..." Isabelle said, trying to make conversation. "Do you have a boyfriend back in Idris?"

"No. I didn't _meet_ a lot of people in Idris, actually," Clary admitted.

"You didn't meet a lot of people..." Isabelle repeated slowly, saying them as if they were in a foreign language.

"We didn't leave our estate much, but I had Jonathan, so I was fine."

"You speak very fondly of your brother," Isabelle observed.

"Yeah. He's a good brother. He can be overprotective, though."

"How so?" Isabelle cocked her head slightly to the side, looking at her.

"Well, when we do leave the house, it's usually to go to Alicante, and when we do, Jonathan doesn't let people come near me. I guess it's because he doesn't want me to get hurt, but it makes me lonely..." Clary trailed off, looking at the ground. This was the first time she said it out loud, though she'd noticed long ago. Back when Aline Penhallow first tried to talk to her, and hadn't gotten through Jonathan.

"Is that why you came to the institute?" Asked Isabelle. "Because you were lonely?"

"Among other reasons. I'd never been outside Idris before, and I wanted to get some experience with demon hunting. I'd never really done it for real before that night in Pandemonium."

Isabelle looked shocked. "You'd _never_ been outside Idris?"

Clary shook her head. "Nope."

"So, your first time out of Idris in public was when we went to the club?"

"Yeah."

"... You were awfully calm for someone who'd went from never seeing a car before to New York. That was brave."

"My mother and father had told me about New York, so I knew what to expect. They'd been teaching me about the laws, the culture, the public transit... By the time I got here, I knew what to expect, but I'd never seen it in person."

"Wow," Isabelle marveled. Clary seemed unbelievably brave now.

Isabelle paused and felt at her neck. "More demons," she said, readying her whip.

Clary readied her sword.

Three of the same demons they'd encountered minutes ago came around the corner, and headed towards them.

Isabelle cracked her whip, leaving a deep gash in the middle one.

It screeched, and the gash spurt with black demon blood.

Clary lunged at the one closest to her, and stuck the sword into it's head. It instantly died, disappearing as demons do. The other demon blocked her way of getting back to Isabelle, it started at her.

"Clary!" Isabelle was dealing with the third one using her whip.

Clary was backing up as the demon slimmed toward her. It lunged forward at an unexpected speed, and one of its tentacles wrapped around her left wrist. She quickly sliced the tentacle, detaching it from herself and the demon. It screeched and lunged for her again.

Clary held her seraph blade in front of herself. The demon dove right into the sword, killing itself. Before it coiled away, It screamed a loud scream, and the weight of the heavy thing made Clary fall backwards. She screamed as she fell through a gaping hole in the floor- that she would have seen if she hadn't been walking backwards.

A grunt of pain escaped her as her back hit the floor, knocking the wind out of her. She gasped quickly and desperately for air.

"Clary!" She heard Isabelle yell from the hole in the ceiling, blending with the sounds of her whip and the demon she was fighting.

Clary couldn't respond, still gasping.

She heard the demon's cries go quiet. Isabelle's face appeared through the hole.

"Clary! Are you okay?"

Clary nodded, her breath starting to return to normal.

"I'll be right down. _Don't_ move," Clary heard the sound of Isabelle's heels as she ran.

"Wasn't planning on it," Clary breathed. Isabelle probably didn't hear her.

After what felt like a minute, Clary's vision began to blur, and she felt her left wrist burn as if it was on fire. _Demon poison_, Clary thought. She had a tingly numb sensation in her fingertips and toes, and her ragged breathing began to sound far away, as if she was listening through water.

"Clary?" The voice was distant, and Clary could barely hear it. She saw a face come into view, though the blurriness was impossible to see around. She could, however, see colors, and saw the black hair and pale skin. _Isabelle_.

Clary tried to say her name, but she was having a hard time moving.

"Hold on, Clary," said Isabelle, whose voice was getting more distorted by the second.

She felt herself leave the ground. Was Isabelle... _Carrying_ her? Clary must have been lighter than she thought.

"Clary!" She heard a voice again, not sure if it was Isabelle who had spoken. She saw another face appear, one with gold hair. _Jace_. "What happened?" Asked Jace.

"I think she'd been poisoned," said Isabelle. "She'll need to get back to the institute."

"Can you contact Magnus? We can't take her on the train like this."

There was a pause.

"Oh, come _on_, she's dying in your arms! You can't even-"

"I'll do it," said Isabelle, finally.

Clary was about to wonder what beef Isabelle had with Magnus Bane, but she blacked out before she had the chance.

* * *

**For sneak peeks into my next chapters, visit my website: Wisterian Princess dot webs dot com (don't know why it won't let me put in a link)**

**I am also on Twitter WisterianPrince**

**Also, BTW, the demon names I made up, if you type them into Google Translate or something, they're just random Latin words I used.**


	6. Chapter 6

**greygirl2358: ****To answer your question, Jonathan isn't like _creepy_ Jonathan from the books (due to his lack of a terrible childhood and lack of demon blood). Jonathan loves his sister more than anything. The thing is, they don't leave their mansion much, so they mostly just have each other. They did, however, leave the mansion every couple of years, and Jonathan would go out with a girl every now and then.**

**Jonathan is over protective by nature. He always has seen his sister as she was when they first met- a tiny baby in his arms, delicate, fragile, vulnerable. He never wanted her to get hurt by anything on the outside world. But as well as that, she was the only person Jonathan _really_ had. As I said, they didn't leave the mansion much, and Jonathan found few opportunities to make friends (also, due to his competitive nature from his father, he has issues with other guys in general). Also, s****ome of your question may be answered in this chapter.**

**I hope I've answered your question this time :)**

* * *

Clary was in a forest. She spun around, but she saw no end, nor any light from any angle. There were voices, whispers coming from unknown directions. The voices became more and more clear as the seconds ticked by.

"Shouldn't she be conscious by now?" said a female voice.

"Brother Zachariah said she'd be awake soon," said a male voice- a lovely one.

"... Did she just move?" It was another male voice, different from the first.

"Clary?" It was the first male's voice.

"Clary, are you awake?" Asked the female.

The voices sounded almost crystal clear now.

"Clary?" She knew this voice- the lovely sounding male voice was unmistakable- it was Jace.

"I don't think she's awake," said the female. Isabelle. "You must have been imagining things, Alec."

_Alec_? Clary thought.

"There! She moved again," said the voice of the second male. Alec hadn't spoken to her much, could that have been Alec's voice?

"I don't think-" Isabelle began, but she was cut off.

"No, I saw it, too. Clary? Can you hear me?" Jace, Clary thought. She couldn't really access her limbs, but she mentally searched for them.

"Clary," said Jace. "The demon took your arm off. You only have one arm."

Clary filled with instant panic and alarm. The forest disappeared immediately, and her eyes flew open. "_What_?!"

Jace barked out a laugh.

Isabelle giggled while looking relieved.

Alec also looked relieved- which confused Clary.

Clary's eyes went to her arms, which she picked up to inspect. They were both intact. The runes that she's put on were completely gone, and on her left arm, a white bandage was wrapped from her wrist to her elbow.

She looked away from her arms and up at Jace and glared. "Liar."

"Well, it got you up didn't it?" he was clearly very amused. "How are you feeling?"

Clary continued her Glare. "Relieved that I still have my arm and pissed off at you for telling me I didn't."

Jace chuckled.

"You're okay then?" Asked Isabelle.

Clary nodded, then realized she wasn't in her room. This room was long, full of light, and lined with twin sized beds with metal barred headboards. "Whose room is this?" Clary was pretty sure this wasn't someone's room, but she thought it'd be worth saying- especially while frowning the way she was.

Jace barked out another laugh.

Isabelle smiled.

Alec fought off a grin.

"This is the infirmary," said Isabelle. "We took you here after your demon poison incident."

Clary vaguely remembered the night. Isabelle carrying her, something about Magnus Bane...

"I'll tell Mom that you're up," said Alec, walking away.

Clary was slightly taken aback. He'd talked directly to her. "Did I sleep through the night?" she asked, looking at the sunlight pouring through the windows.

"Actually," said Jace, "You've been asleep for _three days_."

Clary's eyes widened. "_Three days_?!"

"Deficimus demon poison," said Isabelle. "We had to call in the Silent Brothers to heal you."

"_Three days_?!" Clary repeated.

"I think this beats your thirteen hour record," said Jace, sarcastically.

Clary was flabbergasted. She's been sleeping for _three days_? "I have to write to Jonathan."

"Don't worry about that now," said Isabelle. "You must be hungry."

Clary nodded.

"Okay, breakfast- after you change out of those clothes."

Clary looked down at herself. She was no longer wearing her Shadowhunter gear. She was now wearing a t-shirt that probably belonged to a man, and she couldn't tell if she was wearing bottoms or not. She blushed.

"Come on," said Isabelle.

Clary had changed into a gray and black striped long sleeved t-shirt with a dark green cardigan and jeans.

She'd made her way to the dining room, where everyone was eating cold pizza for lunch.

"Welcome back," said Maryse. "How'd you sleep?" There was a hint of a joke in her tone.

"Well, thank you," Clary played along. She sat down at the closest available chair- next to Maryse and across from Isabelle. Clary took a piece of cold pizza from the box, and plopped it on the plate already set at her place. Clary looked around the table. Someone was missing. "Where are Max and Jace?"

Maryse swallowed her pizza before speaking. "Max went back to Idris. I'm leaving for Idris, too tomorrow, Clave business. And I don't know where Jace is..."

"Oh," Clary said, taking her first bite of pizza.

Clary went back to her room to shower. She hadn't showered since the demon incident, and she smelled like ichor, sweat and burned garbage.

She showered for a long time, taking extra time doing her hair.

She wrapped a cream colored towel around her body, rolling it at the top- making it just past her mid thighs- and blow dried her hair- which was especially soft with the extra conditioner she'd used. She stepped out of the bathroom and let out a little squeak. There was someone standing next to her bed, flipping through her sketchbook.

One thing Clary did that was unusual, was she sketched her emotions. Other girls had diaries, she had a sketchbook and a pencil.

Jace looked up from the sketchpad in his hands at her. The look on his face changed when he saw her. "Bad time?"

She speed walked over to him and took the sketchpad from his hands. "This is mine," she said in a small voice. "I'd prefer you didn't look at it," she closed the sketchbook and put it in the drawer of her nightstand, blushing.

"Do you not like people touching your things?"

"It's not that... It's just private, like a diary."

"So... Your sketchpad... is your _diary_?"

She shrugged. "I guess..."

"Well, then I'm offended."

She turned to look at him, puzzled. "_Offended_?"

"Yes. I was not drawn in there, not _once_."

Clary relaxed a little. So he _hadn't_ seen the shirtless drawing of him with angel wings.

"You even had Alec in there," Jace's tone was mocking.

Clary tensed again. She had drawn Alec the night they'd talked alone. She couldn't really tell anyone, so she sketched it. She'd captured the look of rage on his face in detail.

"Though you made him look evil," Jace finished. "Well, maybe I should come back when you're dressed..."

Clary's eyes widened and she looked down at herself. She'd all but forgotten that she was in a towel. She crossed her arms over her chest and blushed.

Jace walked toward the door, opened it and paused in the doorway. "We're going to a downworld restaurant for dinner," said Jace. "Taki's is the best diner in New York."

"Get _out_, Herondale!"

Jace smirked and shut the door behind him.

Clary- having looked in all the other common hang out rooms- had finally walked into the library. Sure enough, Isabelle, Jace and Alec were all there. When Clary saw Jace, she blushed

"So, what's Taki's?"

A pretty faerie waitress led them to their seats, and started not so subtly flirting with Jace.

They sat in a booth. Isabelle and Jace sat on the inside. Alec sat next to Jace and Clary sat next to Isabelle.

Clary picked up a menu. She frowned as she read over it. "Who orders _raw_ meat?"

"Werewolves mostly," said Jace. "Though I have tried it."

"... You ate _werewolf_ food?"

"It was surprisingly delicious," Jace looked back at his menu.

Clary Blinked at him for a second before turning her attention back to her menu, too. There were other strange things on the menu, things like a variety of animal blood, flower petals, raw fish, etcetera.

"The human section's in the back, Clary," said Isabelle.

Clary flipped the menu over and studied the human section.

"Are you ready to order?" Asked the faerie waitress. Her name tag said 'Kailie'.

"I think so," said Jace. "I'll have the usual," he handed her the menu.

"I'll have the usual, too," said Alec.

"Yeah. The usual," said Isabelle, handing her menu over, too.

"Um... I'll have number forty five," said Clary, handing over her menu.

The waitress- Kailie- winked at Jace before leaving.

* * *

Simon walked into Taki's with Maia and Jordan. A faerie waitress that had served them before- her name was 'Kailie'- Seated them at a booth.

"Do you want your usual, Mr. Lewis?" Kailie asked.

"Yes, thanks," said Simon.

"I'll have fries and a burger," said Maia.

"Same," said Jordan.

Kailie- who had never passed out the menus- walked away.

Simon was sitting across from Maia and Jordan. They were looking at each other, talking. Simon tried not to listen to them. He'd wished that he hadn't actually come at all, he was definitely a third wheel on their date.

Simon heard a girl's laugh from across the diner and- though he tried not to- started listening to the conversation.

"Oh, it was so _funny_!" said the girl who'd laughed. "And Jace was... Jace was," she couldn't stop laughing long enough to talk. Simon had always that was cute. Her voice sounded vaguely familiar...

"Jace was repeatedly stabbing an _Exsilio_ demon with an old pipe," said a male voice. A clearly amused one.

"_Hey_," said a second male voice. "I saved you _both_, you're welcome," his voice was less amused and more pissed off.

A second female was laughing with the first. "An _Exsilio_ demon?" she managed to stop laughing just long enough to say it. Simon knew this voice.

"Oh, Clary, not you _too_," said the unamused male voice.

_Clary_, Simon thought. _From_ _Pandemonium_. Simon craned his head around to look across the diner. He saw the faces of the boys who had been there that night. The blonde boy looked exasperated. The boy with black hair was trying not to laugh. A head of black hair was facing away from him, shaking from laughter. The head beside her was also shaking from laughter, and was a great deal shorter, and her hair was curly and an orangey red.

Simon wasn't sure if he should go say hi or not.

"Simon, what are you looking at?" asked Maia.

Simon turned back to face them. They were both staring at him. "Nothing."

"Is something wrong?" asked Jordan.

"Nothing's wrong. I just saw someone I thought I knew."

"Who?" asked Maia.

"No one," said Simon.

"Here you go," Kailie chirped as she took the tall glass of blood from her tray and set it in front of Simon. "Your burgers are on the way," and Kailie left.

"First of all," said Maia, "I think she likes you."

Simon frowned. "Now you're being ridiculous."

Maia shook her head. "Second of all, you would only not tell us who you were staring at if you _liked_ someone."

Simon's eyes widened. "No really, I don't. I ran into some Shadowhunters at Pandemonium. They're here, that's all."

Maia frowned. "_Shadowhunters_? You didn't hurt a human, did you?"

Simon shook his head. "No, I was just-"

"_Simon_?"

Simon looked over and there she was. Clary was standing next to his table. "Clary, hi."

Maia's gaze went back and forth between Simon and Clary. Jordan just looked confused.

"Hi. How are you?" Clary was wearing a striped top with a green cardigan and jeans. She looked a lot more comfortable in this than she had in her club clothes.

"I'm good," said Simon. "You?"

"Good," she looked at Maia and Jordan- who were both staring at her.

"Clary, this is Maia, and this is Jordan," Simon gestured to each of them. They nodded at her.

Clary gave a tentative wave. "Hi."

"_You're_ a Shadowhunter?" asked Maia.

"... Yes...?"

"... You're kind of _small_," Maia observed. She was also probably thinking 'and _pretty_.'

"Um... Thanks?"

"Sorry about them," Simon said. He saw them look at him out of the corner of his eye, offended.

"Don't worry, really," Clary waved his apology away. "What are you doing at Taki's?"

"I like to come here sometimes," said Simon. "What about you?"

"First time. I'm here with some friends."

"Other Shadowhunters?" asked Maia.

"... Yeah..."

Simon cleared his throat. "You're welcome to sit if you want."

"No thanks," Clary said, pointing to the door next to the front door. "Bathroom. And, I came here with-"

"Of course," said Simon.

"I guess I'll see you around," Clary waved and walked away.

"See you around..."

After Clary disappeared beyond the door, Maia whipped her head around to face Simon, her dozens of braids flying around as she did. "_That_ was your Shadowhunter friend?"

Jordan was looking at Maia in confusion.

Simon ran his fingers through his hair. "Yep that's the one..."

"She's cute," said Jordan.

Maia glanced at his out of the corner of her eye for a second before looking back at Simon. "How did you meet?"

Simon's elbows were resting on the table, fingers clutching hand fulls of his hair. "I saw a demon looking at her... I danced with her to try and save her from him, but she was looking for him... Then she killed it..." Simon was embarrassed about their encounter.

"... That's kind of _bad_," said Jordan.

"I know..."

Kailie came up with the plates. "Burgers with fries," she set down the plates and walked away.

"I kind of want to hide now..." said Simon.

Maia pulled a twenty out of her pocket and set it down on the table. She picked up her Styrofoam plate and stood up. "Let's go."

Jordan and Simon got up, picking up their Styrofoam dishes, too.

* * *

When they finally got back to the institute, it was late.

"Well, I'm going to bed," said Isabelle. "Good night."

"Yeah, I think I'll go to bed, too," said Clary. She mostly wanted to write Jonathan more than sleep.

"I'll walk you to your room," said Jace.

Alec just walked away.

Clary walked down the hall towards her room, Jace to her right.

"What happened?" asked Clary after a few seconds of silence. "When I was out, what happened?"

Jace shrugged. "You didn't miss much. Training, slaying _Periculum_ demons in Central Park, the usual. The biggest thing you missed is when we ordered pizza. That was something you missed."

Clary rolled her eyes and giggled.

"So, what exactly _happened_ that night? Isabelle said you fell through the floor."

"I _did_ actually," Clary admitted. "The demon fell on me, and I fell through a hole in the floor," saying it out loud made Clary realized it sounded stupid, and she blushed, embarrassed.

"I thought Isabelle made it up to cover up something," said Jace. "But when Alec found you, he said you were barely conscious. That wasn't from falling, was it?"

"When _Alec_ found me?" Clary looked up.

"Yes, when Alec found you. You didn't think _Isabelle_ carried you back to the Institute, did you?" Jace said, joking.

Clary blushed. "It just... Everything was really distorted, and I thought..."

"You don't have to tell _me_. I've had my fair share of deficimus demon poisons, I know how much your senses fail you. I once thought a Silent Brother was Max."

Clary burst out laughing at this. She thought for a second about what she assumed was Isabelle having issues with Magnus Bane... "What beef does Alec have with Magnus Bane?" She asked curiously.

Jace frowned. "Beef? What makes you think that?"

"Well, when I was still conscious, I heard something about Magnus Bane- unless there's another Magnus, in which case-"

"Alec doesn't necessarily have _issues_ with Magnus Bane," Jace interrupted. "Magnus has a _thing_ for Alec."

Clary's eyes widened. "Oh..."

"Alec is sort of confused right now. He hasn't really come out yet, and he doesn't really know _what_ he feels."

"He... He told you he was gay?!" Clary was failing to hide her shock.

"He didn't have to," he said coolly. "I've known for a while, and ever since we first met Magnus..."

"Oh..." Clary said it quietly this time. Did Jace know about Alec's feelings towards him, Clary wondered?

They were in front of her room door now.

"Well, this is you," said Jace. "I'll see you tomorrow," he brushed the back of his hand gently against her cheek, then left.

Clary stared after him.

After he was out of sight, she went into her room. She put on shorts and a tank top, then pulled out a piece of paper to write on.

She heard a knock on the door and jumped. Who would be knocking this late except if she was getting called to another demon hunt? "Come in," she said, standing up.

The door opened and her eyes widened when she saw who it was. "Alec?"

"Hey," he said quietly. "You don't mind if I talk to you for a second, do you?"

Clary shook her head.

He shut her room door and put his hands into his jeans' pockets.

Clary sat down at the foot her bed. "What's up?

"Um... Well..."

"... Is this about Jace?"

"No. It's about me... I wanted to apologize."

Clary's eyes widened. "You _do_?"

"Yes. I shouldn't have lashed out at you- I'm sorry."

"Um..." Clary didn't really know what to say. "Okay. Apology accepted."

Alec didn't make eye contact with her. He scratched the back of his head and looked around the room. "It's just... When I saw you on the floor of that hospital a few nights ago, I didn't want that to be the last thing I ever said to you. I honestly wasn't sure if you were dead when I'd found you."

"Oh," Clary spoke very quietly, almost inaudible.

"I realized... I only didn't like you because Jace does. Isabelle's always been like family to him, and there haven't ever been girls that Jace has really been interested in before, and I got... Jealous."

Clary couldn't believe what she was hearing. For a second she thought she was dreaming. Did Alec not only just say he was jealous of her, but that Jace _liked_ her?

"Truth is, you're not actually a bad person. I actually kind of like you- not in that way, but like... Like you like Isabelle, I suppose..."

"Um... Thank you?" Clary was lost for words.

"... Maybe we could train together tomorrow?"

Clary looked at him then. "Um... Okay, sure.

Alec nodded. "Good night," then he left.

_Dear Jonathan,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written in days. I was unconscious._

_Later that night, after I wrote my last letter, Jace came and told me there was a demon crisis. We went to an old abandoned hospital, and hunted Deficimus demons. One wrapped its tentacle around my arm, and I fell through a hole in the floor (I know, I'm an idiot). Alec carried me back to the institute, and they called a Silent Brother in to care for me._

_I want you to know that I'm okay here. You don't have to worry. This experience had taught me that I'm in good hands._

_Also, I misjudged Alec. He just came in and said he was sorry, and that he'd thought I was actually a good person._

_Also, it turns out that Jace knows that Alec is gay, but I don't think he knows that he likes him._

_I'll write again tomorrow._

_With love,_

_Clarissa Adele Morgenstern_

* * *

Jonathan deflected his father's strike of his uncovered sword. The sound of the contact was a loud clank, unpleasant in Jonathan's mind, for he now associated the sound with losing, and having to use his stele to draw an _iratze_ on himself.

Valentine came at him again. This time, he made a cut on the back of Jonathan's hand. Blood spilled out, making his sword suddenly very slippery. This made him even more hesitant, worrying the sword would fly from his grip and seriously injure his father. Valentine hit his son's sword close to the base and it flew out of his hand, now slicked with blood. Valentine touched the very tip of his sword to Jonathan's exposed chest from the undone buttons of his white, collared shirt, and a bit of blood emerged.

Valentine smiled a gloating smile. "I win," he drew his sword away, and took a cloth from a stack of them on a table, and used it to wipe the blood from his sword. "You need to work harder," he said firmly. "Your technique is weak, and so is your defense."

"Yes, father," Jonathan picked up his sword and used a cloth to clean his hand and handle.

"Use your stele to heal those cuts," said Valentine, putting the shiny silver sword in the line of them on the rack, and leaving the room.

Jonathan put his sword back, too, and pulled out his stele to draw an iratze. After his cuts healed, he went to his room. He hadn't gotten a letter from Clary in three days. He was worried that she'd forgotten him, ran off with that Herondale boy she obviously liked. Jonathan had guessed from her letters- the way she spoke of him- that she liked him. She had told him they'd danced, and that she enjoyed the training sessions she had with him. He could also tell she was leaving out details, hiding things from him. She'd never done that before.

He walked into the bathroom connected to his bedroom and looked at his reflection. His white shirt had spots of blood on it. He unbuttoned the shirt and discarded it into his trash. He took a cloth out of his cabinet and turned on the faucet, letting hot water absorb into the fabric. He cleaned the remainder of blood from his skin.

He put on another white shirt- identical to the first- to save himself the embarrassment that would come with proof that he'd changed his shirt due to bloodstains.

He sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard. He ran his fingers through his silvery blonde hair, willing himself to not break down. He _missed_ Clary. _Really_ missed her. He had no one now. He should have gone with her, he thought. He should have let her see the world, like she wanted, without smothering her. He should have let Aline Penhallow talk to her all those years ago. He should have-

He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of firemail arriving.

* * *

**Go to _wisterian princess dot webs dot com _(it _still _doesn't show up as a proper link) for more sneak peeks :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**greygirl2358: I'm glad you are enjoying my book. I will do my best to keep the writing good.**

**And you have my condolences.**

* * *

Clary woke up to the sound of firemail. It must have been at least two hours earlier than she usually woke up, because the sky looked slightly grayer out her window. About eight, she guessed.

She opened the letter...

_Clarissa Adele Morgenstern,_

_You are cordially invited to celebrate Jocelyn Fairchild-Morgenstern and Valentine Morgenstern's 20th wedding anniversary celebration..._

Clary gained a smile as she read on. Valentine and Jocelyn had talked about this constantly. For their twentieth wedding anniversary, they were going to host a ball- and according to the letter, they were renting out a ball room in Alicante- and they talked about how all of their friends would be there. She read on, and after the uniform letter that was probably sent to everyone, there was a section hand written in her mother's handwriting, telling her that she wanted her to come and stay with them the week before the party, and that her friends could stay with them, too.

Clary lept out of bed, got dressed, and ran down to the dining room.

Everyone was in the kitchen. Maryse was cooking something wonderful smelling on the stove, and heads turned and eyes widened when they saw her.

"So, you're awake on your own and before ten in _one day_?" said Jace. "_That's_ a record."

Clary was panting a little from running through the house at top speed.

Maryse looked away from the stove and at her. She smiled and held up an open envelope. "I haven't told them yet," she said. "I left those honors to you."

Clary held up the envelope. "Event of the season, and we're all invited."

_One week later..._

Clary woke up from a knock on her door. "Clary?" Isabelle's voice called through the door. "Clary, it's eight. We're leaving in one hour."

"I'm up!" Clary threw off her covers and rolled off her bed. Today was the day that Jocelyn and Valentine had told them to come to stay at their house. Clary was excited and nervous.

"You better be!" she heard Isabelle walk away. Clary briefly wondered why Isabelle had always just knocked, and Jace had always come in...

Clary changed into fitted black velvet pants, lace up black boots and a green, fitted button down silk blouse with ruffles, a collar and short sleeves.

One of her suitcases from her luggage set had been packed the night before, and was sitting next to her vanity.

She joined everyone in the dining room, where everyone was eating toast- Since Maryse had gone, no one was cooking, and meals were simple. Clary had also noticed that her towels had stopped being restocked, and her bed stopped being made.

"Morning," She sat down next to Jace.

"Morning," he said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Well, thank you."

"Are you looking forward to seeing your family again, Clary?" Asked Isabelle.

Clary nodded, smiling. "I am."

Maryse had organized what was happening with Valentine and Jocelyn. Jace, Isabelle, Clary and Alec were to stay with the Morgensterns for the week before the anniversary party, then they would return to the institute.

Clary took a bite of toast.

They were all waiting in front of the institute, luggage in hand. They were waiting for Magnus Bane to arrive, to open the portal to Idris, but he was late.

"Since when is Magnus _late_?" Said Isabelle.

"He said he'd come as soon as possible," said Alec. "He'll be here."

Isabelle sighed.

Jace leaned over to whisper to Clary. "How much do you want to bet he's late because he's putting in hair gel?"

Clary giggled. "Five bucks."

"Your on."

"Sorry I'm late!" They all turned to see Magnus approaching. "I was caring for a wounded werewolf. Metuenda demon attack."

Jace pulled five bucks out of his pocket and handed it to Clary.

She took it and grinned.

Magnus was in a green velvet military jacket and tight leather pants. His hair was spiked out in all directions, and he had glitter on his face. He nodded at Alec. "Alexander."

Alec was looking at him.

Magnus turned away from Alec and toward Clary. "Clarissa. Ready to go home?"

Clary nodded.

Magnus aimed his hands at the wall, and blue sparks began to fly. The portal opened, the image showing Clary's home.

"Clarissa, you may step through the portal," said Magnus.

Clary took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then stepped through.

Clary felt the strange sensation of walking through a portal. She took a deep breath of fresh, flower scented Idris air. She opened her eyes, and saw her family standing several feet away. "Jonathan!" Clary's bag fell from her hand, and she ran forward, grinning from ear to ear.

Jonathan ran towards her, too.

She leapt into his arms, and he locked her in an embrace, spinning her around once, making her laugh.

"I missed you so much," he whispered into her ear.

"I missed you, too," she was crying tears of joy. It hadn't actually been that long since she'd seen him, but it felt like an eternity. She'd never been away from him that long before.

He loosened his grip and her toes touched the ground again.

She wiped the tears from her face.

"Clary," Jocelyn walked up next to Jonathan.

"Mom!" Clary ran into Jocelyn's arms. Clary embraced Valentine next. "Father."

"Clarissa."

Clary turned. Jace and Isabelle were in front of the portal, and Alec just arrived. The portal closed behind them.

"Mom, Father, Jonathan, I'd like you to meet Alec Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood, and Jace Herondale," Clary gestured to each one of them as she introduced them.

Jace stepped forward. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Valentine stepped forward and shook Jace's hand. "Jason. You look just like Celine."

"I was told you introduced my mother and father. I thank you."

Valentine smirked at Jace's humor. So did Jace.

Isabelle and Alec stepped forward, too.

"My. You two look _just_ like Maryse," said Jocelyn.

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Isabelle.

"As you should. Please, come in," Jocelyn gestured to their house, which was a couple dozen feet away.

Isabelle looked over it, wide eyed. The house was wide- about twice as wide as the institute- and tall. It resembled a castle. It was white with gold detail, and there were designs of shooting stars in various places.

"Wow," Isabelle whispered.

They were lead inside the large double doors into the front room. The floors were made of white marble, and there was a large staircase leading up to a second floor, and a large crystal chandelier hung from the tall ceiling- which was painted like Versaille.

"Woah," said Alec, looking around.

"You have a lovely home," said Jace.

"Thank you," said Jocelyn. "We'll show you to your rooms."

They went up the marble staircase, and to the second floor. The walls were white marble here, but the floor was a thin red carpet, and portraits of their family lined the walls. There were dark wood doors with crystal door knobs along most of the hall.

Jocelyn opened one of the doors and stepped aside. "This is Isabelle's room."

Isabelle walked in and looked around. "Wow..."

Valentine opened the door to the left of it- which was several feet away-. "This is Alexander's room."

Alec walked in and stared, wide eyed. "Whoa."

Jocelyn walked across the hall from Isabelle's room and opened the door. "And this is Jason's room."

Jace walked in. "How you have a chandelier in the guest room?"

Clary giggled. This wasn't _exactly_ how she'd expected them to act. She'd never thought of her house as that impressive before.

They had been brought down to the living room- which had white walls, marble statues, a fireplace, a red rug, three red velvet couches, dark wood coffee tables and a dark wood table for playing cards. Jocelyn had gotten them tea and cookies, and then her and Valentine had left, to let the teenagers have some social time.

"Your house is... _Beautiful_," said Isabelle, looking around the room.

Alec seemed slightly stunned.

Clary was sitting next to Jonathan on one of the velvet loveseats.

"So, you're Isabelle?" Asked Jonathan, looking at Izzy.

"That's me," she said, taking a sip of her tea out of a china cup.

"Somehow, I thought you'd be more..." he trailed off.

Isabelle frowned. "More what?"

"Nothing."

"_What_?"

"Blonde."

Isabelle cocked her head to the side. "_Blonde_?"

Clary gave him a puzzled look.

He shrugged.

Jace smirked. "Did you think I'd be _brunette_?"

"Yes, actually."

Jace chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Jonathan shot Clary a questioning look.

She just shook her head, still smiling.

"Then you're Alec," said Jonathan, looking at him.

"Yes."

Jonathan's eyes were going back and forth between Jace and Alec. There was a second of silence. "I think I imagined you blonde, too. Though, probably more..." he trailed off.

Clary eyed him curiously.

Alec frowned, puzzled. "More what?"

Clary's eyes widened and she looked at Jonathan, shaking her head slowly, subtly.

Jonathan gave her a questioning look.

_Don't_, she mouthed. She thought back to her letters. Did she ever mention that Alec was still in the closet?

_What_? He mouthed back.

_He's still in the closet._

Jonathan frowned. _What_?

_Shut. Up._

The others stared at them in puzzlement.

"Isabelle is really good with a whip," said Clary, then immediately regretted it.

Jonathan's eyes widened and he looked at Isabelle.

"That's her weapon while hunting demons," Clary added. She took a big gulp of her tea and burned her tongue.

"Clary tells me you're a good fighter," said Isabelle, trying to change the topic.

"Does she, now?" Jonathan glanced over at Clary.

"I'd love to see how well you fight."

"Will you be using your _whip_?" Jonathan smirked.

Clary took another gulp of tea, and emptied the cup.

Isabelle seemed unaffected. She smirked. "I said I would like to see how well you fight. I never said I wanted to fight you," she took a sip of tea.

"Who then?" Jonathan seemed intrigued.

"Jace."

Jace raised one eyebrow.

"He's already fought Clary. Let's see how he does with someone he doesn't know."

Jonathan grinned. "I accept."

Jace grinned, too. "So do I."

Clary and Jonathan showed them to the weapons room. It was bright, high ceilinged, and the floors were white marble. There were racks of shiny, silver swords, daggers, seraph blades, all sorts of weapons, a table with a stack of small, folded white cloths, and a large amount of space.

Jace, Isabelle and Alec looked around.

"This is nice," said Isabelle. Her voice wasn't shocked, but it sounded as if she was... _flirting_?

Jonathan went to one of the racks lined with silver swords. He took out two swords and handed one to Jace.

"You use _real_ swords?" Asked Alec, a hint of concern in his voice.

"They're training swords," Clary and Jonathan said in unison.

Jace ran his fingers along the blade and tapped the end. He looked at his finger, but there was no blood. "Fancy."

Jonathan frowned, confused. "'Fancy'?"

"The ones at the institute are covered with a leather case," said Jace, not looking away from the blade.

"Ah," Jonathan strolled over to the center of the room. "Ready when you are."

Jace strolled up in the same matter Jonathan did, with the same amount of cockiness. "I'm always ready," Jace swung first, and Jonathan blocked it.

The swords made a loud clang when they hit together, making Clary gasp. She's forgotten that the training swords sounded so _real_.

They went back and forth for a few minutes- the others watched from the doorway, which they'd never left. Finally, Jonathan used his sword to twist the sword from Jace's hand, and it fell to the ground. Jonathan pointed the dull tip to Jace's chest.

Jace smirked. "Impressive."

Clary realized what would happen next before it did.

Jace dropped to the floor and swung his leg around, tripping Jonathan.

Jonathan made a noise of surprise, and fell on his back

Jace swiped the sword from his hands and put the tip to his chest. "Though it's harder to beat someone you don't know," Jace finished. He lowered his sword and held out his hand. Jonathan took it.

Clary let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

Isabelle smirked. She waltzed up to where the sword had been dropped, and picked it up. "I'm not as good as Jace," she said. "But if you go easy on me, I'm sure we could have some fun."

* * *

Jonathan had switched his sword to his left hand to fight Isabelle. They felt- in his opinion- equally matched now. He hadn't expected her to be this good- from what Clary's letters had said, Isabelle was an easy opponent. Clearly, her training had been paying off, and Jonathan was no where near as good as he usually was with his left hand.

Jonathan glanced down at Isabelle's high heel boots, she stepped back and forth when she struck and defended. He looked at her long, straight black hair, it bounced about as she moved.

Jonathan had imagined what each person looked like as he'd read Clary's letters. From how nice Isabelle _sounded_, he'd imagined her very different from how she actually did look. He'd imagined a short, blonde girl with a muscular frame. When he'd seen her, he'd been shocked. She was _beautiful_. And when he'd imagined Alec, he'd imagined him blonde- like his sister- but somehow... _gayer_ looking. At first, when he first saw Alec and Jace, he wasn't sure which one was which, but when he'd seen Isabelle, he assumed the one with the black hair was Alec. And, he'd imagined Jace brunette- he didn't really know why- but he was much more attractive than he'd pictured. No wonder Clary liked him. He also had a cocky and slightly vain personality- he didn't understand that part.

When he'd imagined Clary having a boyfriend, he imagined Clary would pick a nice boy, one who was kind, like their mother, though, Jace was definitely _not_ that.

He knocked the sword from Isabelle's hand, and used the opportunity to get close. He went right up to her and put the sword to her throat. "I win."

"So you do," her tone was seductive.

He backed away and lowered his sword. "How are you with a whip?"

Isabelle smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know," she teased.

"I'm just curious."

"Alright," Isabelle took something off her wrist- it was a whip. "You may need to switch hands, though."

Jonathan scoffed and switched the blade from his left hand to his right. He lunged forward, and Isabelle cracked her whip.

The whip wrapped around his sword, and she yanked it out of his hand.

His eyes widened. "You _are_ good with a whip."

She grinned. "I know."

Jocelyn came in and knocked on the open double doors. "Dinner in twenty," she said, then walked away.

"Okay!" Clary called after her.

Jonathan looked around the room. Clary had just stopped sword fighting with Jace, and Alec was putting away the bow and arrows he'd been using.

Seeing Alec, Jonathan thought back to what had happened in the living room, Clary's reaction. _Shut up_, she'd mouthed. Why? Was Alec being gay a secret?

Isabelle put her training sword away.

"We might want to change," said Clary. "I'm all sweaty."

"It wasn't a good Idea to wear velvet and silk white training, Clarissa," said Jonathan.

Clary rolled her eyes at him.

"We should all change," said Jace. "There isn't a dress code for dinner, is there?"

Clary giggled. "Not really."

"Though I don't think anyone's ever worn jeans and a t-shirt in the dining room," said Jonathan.

"Gotcha," said Isabelle.

* * *

**Thank you everyone for being so supportive :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Special occasion. I'm posting an additional chapter.**

* * *

Clary had changed into the blue dress she'd worn on her first day at the institute. She left her room, and turned the corner to the hall with the guest rooms. She leaned against the wall, waiting for them to change- she knew they wouldn't know where the dining room was.

"Hey," she turned her head and saw Jonathan. He leaned on the wall next to her.

"Hey."

"How are you?" he asked. "I haven't gotten to ask you properly since you've gotten here."

"I'm fine. Why?"

"It's just..." he hesitated. "I can tell that you haven't told me everything."

Clary frowned.

"In your letters, I can tell you left some things out, I want to know why."

Clary took a slow breath before answering. "I think I like Jace," she said quietly.

The corner of Jonathan's mouth pulled up. "I thought so."

Clary's eyebrows knit together. "You did?"

"The way you would talk about him in your letters," he explained. "And the way you two were interacting when you were dueling. I can tell, you like each other."

Clary looked at a distant part of the floor and shook her head. "I don't think he likes me. Alec said he does, too, but I don't think so..."

"... Does he sometimes touch your shoulder when he talks to you?"

Clary looked up at him, a puzzled expression on her face. "Yes, but I don't see how that's-"

"Does he ever try to get close to you for no reason?"

"Um..." Clary thought of their training duels, and how he'd put his hand on her lower back and come close to her.

"Has he ever looked you right in the eyes while talking to you?"

Clary's eyes widened. He'd done that all the time.

"The way he says your name... Does he ever say anyone else's name like that?"

"... No..." Clary murmured. She was looking at the floor now, blushing.

"He likes you, Clary."

Clary's eyes were unblinking, her mind racing. She thought of different times he'd given hints like this. His brushing her face with the back of his hand, him teasing her about Simon, asking her to dance, getting intimately close during training, asking her how'd she slept, coming into her room to wake her up, the look on his face when he'd seen her in a towel... She blushed more intensely.

Jonathan chuckled under his breath. He put his hand on Clary's shoulder. "You've drawn him, haven't you," he taunted.

A door opened and her head shot up. Alec had come out of his room in a dark blue button down and khaki colored trousers.

Alec frowned in confusion when he saw Clary's face. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Nope," said Clary, a little too quickly.

Isabelle walked out of her room. She was wearing a fitted v-necked red shirt with a short black skirt and her high heel boots. Her red lips pulled up at the corners when she saw Jonathan- Clary _knew_ they were flirting back and forth.

"You look nice," said Jonathan.

Isabelle tossed her hair out of her face. "Not so bad yourself."

Jonathan was wearing black trousers, and a white shirt. The outfit suited him.

Jace walked out of his room then. He wore a pale blue button down shirt, and black pants. His gaze turned immediately to Clary.

Clary looked away from him, blushing. "This way to the dining room," she said, walking ahead, keeping her gaze off of Jace.

She led them downstairs to the dining room- which was connected to the kitchen. The room had dark wood walls, and paintings of angels. The table was long- meant for fourteen people- and covered with a white tablecloth. There were places set- one for each of them- with multiple forks, spoons and knives, and a plate with a salad plate on top of it and a bowl on top of that. There was a wine glass at the right hand side of each of the plates, too, and a water glass at the left hand side. There were dishes with metal covers over them lining the center of the table.

Valentine sat at the head, he was in a dark purple dress shirt. "Good evening."

"Good evening, sir," said Jace.

Clary almost glanced at him. Why was he talking so formally?

"Anywhere in particular we should sit?" Jace asked Clary.

Valentine answered. "Anywhere but here," he gestured to the seat to his left.

Clary kept her eyes off of Jace.

Jonathan sat on Valentine's right- where he always did- and Clary sat next to him- like she always did.

Clary saw out of the corner of her eye that Jace sat next to her. She blushed.

Isabelle sat across from Clary and Alec sat across from Jace.

Jocelyn walked in from the kitchen holding a silver platter covered with a silver dish. She was wearing a fitted green top that brought out her eyes, and a navy blue pencil skirt. She set the dish down along the middle of the table with the others. "You all look lovely this evening," she said.

"Thank you," Clary, Isabelle and Jace said in unison.

Jonathan snorted at this.

Jocelyn took the silver covers off the dishes. She revealed sliced duck, cranberry sauce, salad nicoise, a dozen small bowls of french onion soup, rolls with butter and mashed potatoes.

Isabelle, Alec and Jace's eyes widened.

"Bon appetit," said Jocelyn. She sat down in her reserved seat next to Valentine.

Jocelyn, Valentine, Jonathan and Clary seemed to know what to do. They served themselves and passed the dishes around. The others imitated them.

"So," Jocelyn broke the silence once everyone was served. "Jace, is there any particular reason you live at the institute?"

Jace shrugged. "My parents didn't take me out enough, I think. I was ten when I started living there."

"So, same as Clary then," said Valentine.

Clary fought the urge to look at Jace.

"I suppose so."

"Isabelle, Alec, you grew up at the institute with Jace then?" Asked Jocelyn curiously.

Isabelle nodded. "That's right. Jace is kind of like a third brother."

Alec stiffened slightly, and Clary saw that Jonathan noticed.

"Yes. How is your family? I forgot to ask," said Jocelyn.

"They're good," said Isabelle. "Max is learning, and my mother is teaching him. My father's running for a position in the council."

"So I've heard," said Valentine.

"And Alec, you're going to be eighteen soon," said Jocelyn. "Are you excited?"

Alec looked up from his plate. "Um... Sure, I guess..."

Jocelyn smiled. "So, I saw you in the training room. Did anyone manage to beat Jonathan?"

"Well, Isabelle did," said Jonathan. "But she didn't use a sword while doing so."

Valentine raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Isabelle's rather skilled with a whip."

Isabelle's lips were curved up at the corners.

"Is she, now?" said Valentine.

Isabelle shrugged. "We all have our weapons of choice."

"What is yours, Alexander?" asked Valentine.

Alec cleared his throat. "I prefer to use a bow and arrow."

"Are you any good?"

Alec nodded.

"Well, you'll have to show me sometime."

After a long dinner full of conversation and Clary not looking at Jace, everyone retired to their rooms. Jonathan and Clary led everyone back upstairs and showed them to their rooms.

"Well, I bid you all a good night," said Jonathan, walking the rest of the way down the hall and turned the corner.

"Goodnight," said Isabelle, walking into her room.

"See you in the morning," said Alec to no one in particular, and closed his room door.

Jace and Clary were the only ones left. Clary didn't look at him.

"You know..." said Jace, "I haven't seen _your_ room yet."

Clary was glad he couldn't see her face, because it was red.

"Do you want to?" she asked quietly.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

Clary lead Jace around the corner to her room- across from her room door was her brother's. She opened her room door and walked in.

It had ice blue walls with paintings of her hung up on the walls, posters of her favorite animes, pictures of her and her brother, a large bed with a purple bedspread, dark hardwood floors, and cherry wood furniture- a vanity, the bedframe, her bookshelf, dresser, desk- and there was a door that led to a walk in closet, and another that lead to a bathroom. Her bookshelf had lots of books on it- half of which was lined with manga- and her luggage that she'd brought from New York was sitting on the floor by the door.

Jace looked around. "It's nice."

She blushed.

"Is there a particular reason you're ignoring me?"

She turned to face him then, looking straight up at his face. "I'm not ignoring you."

"Yes you are. You've barely said a word to me or looked at me since the training room. Are you upset with me because I beat you?" His tone had never changed from one of curiosity.

"You didn't _win_."

"I won _first_," now his tone was teasing.

Clary's face was burning red- mostly out of embarrassment.

Jace turned away from her and looked around the room again.

Clary couldn't help it- she was staring at him.

"Wow, you _do_ read a lot of manga, just like Max..." He trailed off when he looked back at her.

Clary kept telling herself to stop staring, but she couldn't seem to.

Jace stared right back at her for a moment, with his golden eyes... He leaned down slowly.

Clary could feel her heart hammering inside her chest. She tilted her head up slightly.

He paused when he was about an inch away from her face.

Clary could feel his warm breath on her face. It smelled like cranberries and butter.

He inched closer, and almost touched her lips.

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway and they shot apart. Clary's face burned intensely, and she looked at the wide open door and mentally cursed herself for not closing it.

Jonathan was standing in the doorway, looking uncomfortable and wide eyed. "Clarissa, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Jace cleared his throat, then said- "I'll see you tomorrow, Clary. Goodnight," he didn't look at her when he'd said it. He left the room.

Jonathan stepped in and closed the door behind him. "I was right about Jace liking you, then?"

Clary's face burned.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," he said, changing the subject. He walked over to Clary's bed and sat down.

Clary sat down beside him and leaned on the bedpost by the foot of the bed. "What's up?"

"Well... You see..."

"Is this about Isabelle?"

Jonathan glanced at her. "Is it _that_ obvious?"

Clary nodded. "She doesn't have a boyfriend as far as I know. And I'm pretty sure she likes you, too."

"She does?"

"She's been flirting with you all night, haven't you noticed?"

"I did. I just wasn't sure..."

"You _could_ take her out tomorrow," Clary suggested. "Not that there's much to do, but I think she'd enjoy it."

Jonathan nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"I'll cover for you tomorrow if you're gone. Good luck."

* * *

Jonathan took a deep breath, then knocked on Isabelle's door. He was extremely nervous about this. It was six in the morning, and he wasn't sure how pleased Isabelle would be about a date at sunrise. He knocked again.

Isabelle opened the door. "Jonathan?"

Jonathan looked her up and down. She was wearing a short red nightgown lined with black lace. She seemed much shorter than he remembered, too, and even without makeup, she still looked beautiful. "Do you want to go out?" he asked, summoning all of his confidence.

Isabelle frowned. "Now?"

He nodded.

"With... Just you?"

He nodded again.

"What did you have in mind?"

"... Do you ride?"

Isabelle raised her eyebrows. "You have _horses_?"

The corner of his mouth went up. "Of course we do. What use would an empty stable be?"

Isabelle blinked at him. "Okay. I'll get ready."

Jonathan smiled. "I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairs."

Jonathan waited for about ten minutes. When Isabelle descended the staircase, Jonathan stared at her.

Isabelle wore tight black pants, knee high lace up boots with sturdy seven inch heels, a red tank top and a fitted black leather jacket half way zipped up. Her hair was in a high ponytail, and she had on a face full of makeup.

"Ready?" he asked, working incredibly hard at looking relaxed and cool.

Isabelle smirked. "Of course."

Jonathan snuck Isabelle out the front doors and to the stables- which were located behind the house.

He unlocked the door and gestured Isabelle to go in before him.

The barn was on the smaller side. Each side had two stalls, holding each member of his family's horses. The back was a fully stocked tack room.

There was a fully tacked white horse with a grayish mane waiting for them.

Isabelle's eyes widened. "You were pretty sure I'd say yes."

"I had my doubts," he took a bag from around his shoulder and attached it to behind the horse's saddle.

"What's his name?"

"_Her_ name," he corrected. "Artemis. Goddess of hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth and virginity."

Isabelle placed her hand on Artemis' face. "She's beautiful."

"She likes to think so," he joked.

Isabelle ran her hand down Artemis' neck. "I've got a confession."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow.

"... I've never ridden a horse before..."

"It's fine. You'll be on behind me. All you need to do is hang on."

Isabelle looked at Jonathan. "I can do that."

Jonathan lead Artemis out of the stable by her reins. Isabelle followed.

The sky was just starting to lighten, the starry midnight blue sky transforming into dawn.

Jonathan helped Isabelle into the saddle, and climbed in front of her. He put his feet into the preadjusted stirrups and gripped the reins in both hands.

Isabelle locked her arms around Jonathan's chest. "Ready when you are," she purred into his ear.

When Artemis began her canter, Isabelle's grip tightened around Jonathan, her chest pressing up against his back.

They rode for a while, watching the pink, purple and orange sunrise.

They reached a clearing on the edge of a dense patch of trees. There was a perfect view of the sunrise from here.

Jonathan dismounted and helped Isabelle down. She stared out at the sunrise as he detached the bag from Artemis' saddle.

"Pretty," said Isabelle.

"Clary and I used to come here," he said. "We'd watch the sunrise every Sunday morning. I haven't been here since she'd gone to live in New York."

Isabelle looked at him. "Clary missed you, you know. She'd speak highly of you often."

Jonathan- who was emptying the contents of the bag- paused and looked up at her from his crouch on the ground. "She did?"

"Yeah. She said she thought you were a good brother."

Jonathan turned his head back toward his bag. He was a little surprised. "Oh."

Isabelle was watching him take the contents out of the green messenger bag.

He pulled out a blanket, a paper bag full of something, a thermos of coffee, a plastic ziplock bag of packets of sugar, a small glass bottle of cream and two mugs. He spread the blanket over the green grass and set out the things. He opened the paper bag, it was full of pastries- croissants, scones, danishes...

Isabelle smiled. "You've really gone all out with this."

"I guess I have," he gestured for her to sit, and she did.

"How do you take your coffee?"

"Cream, no sugar."

Jonathan poured the coffee and cream into one of the mugs.

"Thanks," she said as he handed it to her. She took a sip while he poured himself coffee with nothing in it.

"You drink it black?

He took a sip and nodded. "Might as well."

Isabelle picked up a blueberry scone and nibbled off the corner.

Jonathan looked out at the dawn. the sun was fully in view now, the whole sky approaching the color of midday.

"Clary used to bring a sketchpad with us when we came here. She'd draw the sunrise over and over..."

"You talk about Clary a lot," said Isabelle. "Not that that's a bad thing, I was just observing."

Jonathan looked over at her. "Alright. I won't talk about my sister anymore," he layed on his side and propped his head up with his hand. "What do you want to talk about?"

Isabelle lie on her side, imitating his position. "You."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "_Me_?"

"Like, your life. What kind of things happened to you through your life?"

Jonathan frowned and scratched the back of his head. "My life's pretty boring, actually. I've never killed a demon, I've never left Idris, I don't have any friends..."

"Then tell me about your home life. What kinds of things did you used to do with Clary? How did your parents raise you? What are your interests?"

Jonathan thought for a second. "I'd like to think my parents raised me as a gentleman," he smirked. "Um... I remember the night Clary was born. My father told me to wait in my room. I had stayed up till four in the morning, waiting. When my father came to my room, he told me I had a sister, and to come meet her. They said I could hold her if I sat down, and I did. I fell asleep with her in my arms," Jonathan smiled at the memory.

Isabelle smiled, too. "That's cute. How old were you?"

"Two."

"Tell me another one."

"Let's see... The second time Clary left the estate was when she was four. Aline Penhallow had tried to talk to her, but I stopped her, told her to get lost. I think I was afraid Clary and I would be less close if she had outside friends. I also wanted to be the most important person in her life- and I thought I couldn't be if she'd gotten a best friend or something," Jonathan was gazing at a point in the distance, lost in memory. "I'd actually done that every time we'd gone to Alicante," he confessed. "This is the first time I've ever told anyone that," he looked back over at her.

Isabelle's face looked like a combination of sympathy, fondness, understanding and kindness. "Wow... I think I actually understand that- Not that I'm friends with my brother- but I can see things from your point of view."

"You can?"

"Yeah, I think so," Isabelle sat up and pulled out her ponytail. The sunlight made her sleek black hair shimmer as she shook her head towards the sky. She went back onto her elbow. "Did you say _Aline Penhallow_?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I know her. Sometimes, my brother and I stay with the Penhallows when we visit Alicante.

"Really?"

Isabelle giggled and nodded.

"Well, next time you see her, tell Aline I said sorry for making her cry."

"Aw, you made her _cry_?" Isabelle was clearly trying not to laugh.

Jonathan chuckled. "I did. I feel kinda bad about it now."

Isabelle laughed, throwing her head back.

Jonathan laughed, too.

When their laughing dissipated, their eyes met. Jonathan noticed her eyes weren't actually black, but a very dark brown. He leaned forward.

Isabelle leaned forward, too, and their lips met.

* * *

**Let me know what you think of Jonathan and Isabelle :)**

**I hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I apologize to the people who wanted ****_Simon _****and Isabelle, but I'm glad some of you like Jonathan and Isabelle. Would their couple name be Jonabelle?**

* * *

"Clary? Clary, honey, wake up."

Clary wasn't exactly sure where the voice was coming from.

"Clary, your friends will be up soon. Clarissa Adele, _wake. Up_."

"Mom?" Clary murmured.

"Yes. Now, get out of bed."

Clary opened her eyes. She was in her room in Idris. She'd expected to be in her room in New York, having Isabelle, Maryse or Jace wake her up. Her mother hadn't woken her up since before she'd left.

"Come on, wake up," said Jocelyn. Her long red curls were hanging around her face. She was wearing a blue blouse and a black pencil skirt.

Clary sat up, blinking.

"Now, I'm going to see if your brother's awake," she stood up and left the room.

Clary stretched her arms out and yawned.

She took a quick shower, and dressed in a green sleeveless blouse and fitted black pants with black flats.

She walked around the corner into the hall, where everyone else was- everyone except Jonathan and Isabelle.

Jocelyn looked over at Clary. "You haven't seen your brother, have you?" She asked.

Clary sucked in a breath. She'd remembered Jonathan had asked her to cover for him last night. "He may have gone for a walk."

Jocelyn's eyebrow went up. "Why would he do that?" She asked suspiciously- Clary had always been a terrible liar.

"Maybe all the people in the house was overwhelming," said Jace.

Clary shot him a grateful look.

"I'll go get Isabelle up," said Alec, clearly looking to escape. He walked into Isabelle's room and shut the door.

Jocelyn bit her bottom lip. "Now I feel _bad_."

Alec came out of Isabelle's room with a wide eyed expression on his face. "Isabelle isn't in there..."

Jocelyn's guilty expression immediately disappeared and she planted her hands on her hips. "I've already searched the house for Jonathan, and I didn't see Isabelle anywhere."

"They could be walking together, getting some fresh morning air," Jace suggested- though he knew exactly what was going on, Clary could tell.

Jocelyn let out a fiery breath. "Well, no use waiting up for them. Let's have breakfast," She walked swiftly away.

"Thanks," Clary muttered to Jace as she passed him.

He walked next to her. "Don't mention it."

When they got to the dining room, everyone took their seats. Valentine, Jonathan and Isabelle's seats were empty. There were more of the same silver platters that there had been the night before, all covered.

Valentine walked in. "Did Jonathan go for a ride? Artemis is not in her stall."

Jocelyn's eyes narrowed. "Apparently so, and he's taken Isabelle with him."

* * *

Isabelle threw her head back and laughed.

Jonathan was untacking Artemis while Isabelle sat on a wooden bench.

"That's really funny," said Isabelle.

Jonathan was smiling. "Just don't tell Clary I told you, she'd kill me."

Isabelle giggled.

Jonathan walked into the tack room and came back with an apple. He held his hand flat, and Artemis ate it gratefully.

He lead his horse back into her stall and shut the door. "Ready to go back in?"

Isabelle sighed. "I guess we have to. They'll wonder where we are."

Jonathan held his hand out to her. "Come on."

She took it, and they walked back to the house, hand in hand.

When they walked through the front door, Jocelyn was leaning on the stair banister, arms crossed over her chest.

Jonathan and Isabelle's hands left each other.

"Where have you been, Jonathan Christopher?" Jocelyn's voice was stern.

Jonathan cleared his throat. "We went riding."

"You didn't even leave a note, I was worried sick!"

"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Morgenstern," said Isabelle. "I asked Jonathan to take me to the hill to watch the sunrise, we didn't think it would take so long."

Jocelyn's expression softened a bit. "Oh, it's alright," her cheery voice was back. "Just please leave a note next time so I know where you are."

Isabelle nodded. "Can do."

"And, please, call me Jocelyn."

* * *

Clary ran her finger across the long row of alphabetized books in her giant library. All of the books in this section were on demons or runes. She searched the shelf for the notebook she stored next to the gray book she'd dreamt of and sketched.

"You have an impressive library."

Clary jumped and turned. Jace was standing in the doorway.

The library was a very tall room. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and the shelves were lined with books- books from the mundane world and nephilim world alike. There were red velvet sofas and dark wood coffee table around, and there were stained glass windows at the far side from the doorway, above the shelves, letting sunlight filtered through yellow, orange and red fill the room.

"How'd you know I was here?" Asked Clary.

"I didn't. I was looking for your training room, but this room is nice, too," he walked in and looked at the peaked ceilings. He whistled. "This is bigger than the library at the Institute. How did you manage to look so impressed when you came?"

"The first time I saw the library at the institute, it was when you were playing piano."

Jace nodded. "I'm pretty impressive, aren't I?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "Haven't you ever heard that modesty is an attractive quality?"

Jace was eyeing a display case which held a fat, oldish looking book with a shiny silver glass cover. "Only from ugly people."

Clary scoffed. She followed his gaze to the case. "My parents' wedding album," she explained.

Jace nodded. He walked up to the display case and looked next to it. There was a large picture frame as tall as he was, with names and dates written on it, one name leading to another.

"That's the Morgenstern family tree," said Clary.

Jace nodded, staring at it.

Clary turned back to the shelf and pulled off the notebook. She sat on one of the single person velvet chairs, and flipped it open. There was a pencil stuck in the spiral of the notebook, she pulled it out.

She flipped to an empty page and began sketching the rune from her dream the night before. It had resembled an eye with a scare.

"What are you drawing?" Jace's voice came from right behind her.

She didn't look up from the page. "A rune."

"What kind of rune?"

She shrugged. "I dream about runes sometimes. I don't know what they mean, so I write them down in here," She finished the rune.

She flipped through some of the pages to show him.

"Have you ever tried them to see if they work?"

"I wanted to, but Jonathan wouldn't let me. He said it could be dangerous."

"It can be," Jace smirked. "May I try?"

Clary's head whipped toward him. "Are you _crazy_?! You could get yourself killed!"

"It's my life to gamble how I please," Jace looked unconcerned. He held his hand out. "May I?"

Clary hesitated for a second, then handed him the notebook.

He flipped to a random page and pulled out his stele.

Clary stood up and came around the chair. "Here, let me," Clary took the stele from Jace's hand and copied the rune from the page onto his arm. After she finished, she looked at him. "Feel any different?"

Jace frowned. "No. Do I look any different?"

Clary shook her head.

"Ah, I've been looking for you," Jocelyn was standing right outside the library doors. "Dinner is almost ready. Tell your friends."

Clary nodded. "Okay."

Jocelyn turned to leave, then paused and turned back, and looked at Jace. "Weren't you just in the training room with Alexander?"

Jace frowned. "I don't believe so."

"He's been with me the whole time," said Clary.

Jocelyn was frowning, but nodded. "I must be going crazy, I could have _sworn_ you were there."

Jace shook his head. "Nope."

Jocelyn shook her head at herself. "I'll see you both at dinner," then she walked away.

Clary closed the notebook and put it back on the shelf. "Let's go."

Clary led Jace to the dining room. They sat in their usual seats.

Valentine walked in from the direction of the kitchen and frowned at them. He looked back and forth between them and the way he'd come. "Weren't you in the kitchen just now?"

Clary frowned. "No, why?"

"No, I wasn't talking to you," said Valentine. "I was talking to your mother."

Clary looked around the dining room. Alec had just walked in, and he sat in his usual seat. Clary looked back at Valentine, a very confused look on her face.

Valentine blinked and turned back toward the kitchen.

Alec watched him leave. "What was that about?" He asked once Valentine was gone.

Jace shrugged.

Isabelle and Jonathan walked in together, talking about something, and their conversation stopped abruptly when they saw them. They froze, and their eyes widened.

Clary looked around the room, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "What are you staring at?" She asked them.

They stayed silent, Isabelle's eyes switching from one side of the table to the other.

"If you want to sit together, that's fine," said Clary. "I can move..."

"Are you _seeing_ this?" Isabelle asked quietly- Clary almost didn't hear her.

"Yes," said Jonathan. "I am."

Isabelle took out her whip.

Jace threw his hands up, jokingly. "I can move if you want me to."

"Who the _hell_ are you?!" She snarled.

Clary was caught off guard.

"What?" Jace was clearly confused. He put his hands down.

Jonathan had a dark look in his eye. "Prove you're Clary," he demanded.

Clary frowned. "What? Why?"

"Do it! _Now_!"

Clary jumped. He'd never spoken to her like that- ever.

"What's wrong? Did something-"

Jonathan marched up her her and gripped her shoulders.

"Jonathan, stay back-" Isabelle began.

"You prove to me that you're my sister_ right now_, or I will _end_ you," Jonathan snarled.

Clary was genuinely scared now. "Jonathan, this isn't funny."

"Jonathan," Jace began, standing up. "Let her go."

Jonathan took his green eyes off of Clary and pointed them at Jace. "What about you? Can you prove it?"

Jace frowned. "Prove what?"

"That you're my sister!" Jonathan spat.

Jace looked confused. "Of course not."

Jonathan released Clary and gripped Jace's collar, shoving him against the wall- almost knocking over an angel statue.

"Jonathan, what are you-" Clary jumped out of her seat.

"Prove your her!" Jonathan looked over his shoulder at Clary.

"What?"

"Prove you're Clary."

Clary's mind was racing. What the hell was he doing? "When I was four, Aline Penhallow had tried to come up and talk to me, you told her to get lost- because you were being protective of me."

Jonathan's gaze toward her softened. He turned back to Jace. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Jonathan-" Clary reached out to grab Jonathan's shoulder.

"Clary, get back!"

"Jonathan, what are you doing? What did Jace do?"

"Jace?" Isabelle and Jonathan spoke in unison.

"Who else?" said Jace.

Alec had stood up. "Jonathan, what is this about?"

"Alec?" said Isabelle. "Which one is Alec?"

Everyone looked at Isabelle then.

"What do you mean '_Which one is Alec_'?" said Jonathan.

Isabelle's turned toward Alec. "You!" She pointed at him with her unarmed hand. "Prove that you're Alec."

Everyone's eyes were on Isabelle.

"What are you talking about?" said Alec.

"The rune," said Clary.

Jace's eyes widened. "Oh, _lord_."

Jonathan looked over his shoulder at Clary. "What rune?"

Clary picked up a steak knife from the table and came up to Jace. "Sorry," she said, and cut his arm where the rune was.

Blood spilled out of it, covering the rune.

Jonathan stumbled back from him, looking at everyone in the room.

Isabelle's eyes were wide, staring from Jace to Alec, and back again.

"What the hell just happened?" Asked Jonathan.

"This is what happened when you use runes that aren't in the book," said Clary, staring at Jace.

Valentine and Jocelyn walked in from the kitchen, holding silver platters.

"What's going on in here?" Asked Valentine.

Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

"Nothing," said Jace. "There was just a bit of a misunderstanding, but it's been sorted."

"So what you're saying," said Isabelle. "Is that Clary dreamt up a rune, and you just drew it on yourself to see what would happen?!" she demanded.

Jace was sitting in the velvet chair Clary had been sitting in earlier in the library. He shrugged.

"Damn it, Clary, I told you to never test those out!" said Jonathan. He was pretty angry.

Their dinner had been a quiet one- Valentine and Jocelyn had been the only ones to speaking. The teenagers had all gathered in the library to talk about what happened after dinner had ended.

"I'm sorry, okay?!" said Clary.

"What did the rune do, exactly?" said Alec- he was sitting on a loveseat alone.

"I'm really not sure," said Jace.

Isabelle- who was pacing- stopped and looked at Jace. "It was a shape shifting rune, though I didn't know there was one."

"It couldn't have been, because Clary and Alec still saw me as me."

Isabelle went back to pacing.

"Plus, I saw Clary and you saw Alec," said Jonathan- he was sitting on the arm of a vacant couch.

"I think my parents saw you as each other," said Clary. "Mom asked if you were in the training room- my father was with Alec in there- and when he came out of the kitchen, he said he'd thought you were there, and my mother was in there."

"So, what's the pattern here?" Asked Jonathan. "Do we see blood?"

"No, because Alec and I saw Jace, and our parents aren't related."

Clary saw Alec's face transform into another expression- his eyes were wide as they stared at the floor. Clary knew this expression, she'd seen it many times. It was shocking realization.

"Well, I'm going to bed," said Isabelle. "I got up early this morning," she walked out of the library.

"Yeah, me too," said Jonathan, and he followed Isabelle out.

"I'm tired, too," Clary lied. She stood up and left.

Clary was in her pajamas, lounging on her bed. She was sketching Jonathan, and the dark look in his eyes when he'd demanded she prove she was her.

She heard a knock at her door.

"Come in."

She looked up at the door as it opened. Alec came in and shut the door behind him.

"I think I know what the rune did," said Alec.

Clary closed her sketchbook and set it beside her. "What?" She scooted to the edge of her bed and put her feet on the floor.

"I think..." Alec hesitated. He looked at the ground. "I think... We saw the people we love."

Clary's eyes widened, then she blushed a deep red.

Alec glanced at her face. "I thought so."

Clary looked at the floor, blushing more.

"That's all. Good night," then he left.

Clary was in an endless hallway lined with white doors, and the floors were black and white tiles. She was wearing a black dress with white layers underneath the skirt.

She looked in both directions. "Hello?" she called.

She began walking down the hall. After awhile, she saw an end. It was a door, and it was open, letting light spill in.

She stepped out into a snow storm. She turned back to go back inside, but the door was gone. She could see only snow for miles around, and the blizzard was making it harder to see.

Clary began to shiver. She tried to walk forward, but her legs were stiff. She fell into the snow. Her exposed arms and face lay on a sheet of ice, and Clary chattered.

She felt something grab her shoulder- something warm, and she screamed.

"Clary!"

Clary opened her eyes and saw her brother hovering above her. "Jonathan?" She breathed. Clary noticed she was laying on her bedroom floor. It was hard, and cold as ice.

Jonathan was crouched beside her. "Clary, are you alright?" There was no trace of the angry Jonathan Clary had seen just hours ago. His face was concerned, protective, like she remembered.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm cold."

Jonathan helped her back into her bed and wrapped her covers around her. "I'm so sorry, Clary," he said in a hushed voice.

"For what?"

"For what happened at dinner last night. I feel terrible. I haven't slept a wink."

Clary glanced at her clock- though she could barely see it because it was dark- it said five thirty. "Jonathan..."

"I'm really sorry. I didn't know if you were you, I thought that they were going to hurt you-"

"Don't worry about it," Clary said in a reassuring voice. "It's okay," Clary wasn't used to being the comforting one. She put her hand on his shoulder.

Jonathan looked down.

"How did your date with Isabelle go?"

He looked up then, a confused expression on his face. "What?"

"Your date with Isabelle, how'd it go?"

"You want to talk about _Isabelle_?" Jonathan's tone was confused and surprised.

"Yes."

Jonathan paused for a few seconds. "Good?"

"What happened?"

"I took her to the spot on the hill you and I would go every Sunday, and we watched the sunrise."

"What else?" she encouraged.

"We ate pastries and drank coffee."

"That's it?"

"We also talked."

"... You kissed her, didn't you?"

"What? No," Clary could read him like a book.

"Oh, come on, it's pretty obvious. The way you two were together... And, you look different today."

He raised his eyebrow- which Clary could barely see in the dark room. "I do?"

Clary nodded. "This wasn't your _first_ kiss, was it?"

"Really? You think after every time we'd ever gone to Alicante, that I'd never kissed a girl?" he looked almost offended.

"So you _did_ kiss her."

Jonathan rolled his eyes.

"Who was your first kiss with?"

"... Do you really want to know?"

Clary nodded eagerly.

"... Helen Blackthorn."

"_Helen Blackthorn_? Didn't she end up being gay?"

"Yep."

Clary grinned. "Nice."

* * *

** Next update will be Wednesday :) I hope you enjoyed**


	10. Chapter 10

**Answering some questions:**

**First of all, I meant Jason instead of Jonathan for a few different reasons. First, there are too many Jonathans already. Second, Jace is a nickname for Jonathan Christopher, and he isn't Jonathan Christopher, so I gave him a name that could be turned into Jace.**

**Addressing the other question, yes, there will be Clace, just be patient ;) it's coming!**

* * *

Clary opened one of the double doors that led to outside. She inhaled the scent of the outdoors. It was pouring outside.

"Are you going out in the _rain_?"

Clary jumped and spun around. "Yes, I am."

Jace smirked and leaned on the banister. "Any particular reason?"

Clary shrugged. "I like the rain."

"So... You're just going out in the rain, then...?"

"You're welcome to join me."

The corner of Jace's mouth pulled up. "I just might."

Clary walked into the grassy front lawn, barefooted. She closed her eyes and turned her face toward the sky.

"So you like the rain?" asked Jace

"I love it," Clary turned to face him.

Jace's blue button down was already soaked through, clinging to his muscles like plastic wrap. His gold hair was smoothed back over his head.

Clary was suddenly very aware of her quick heartbeat. She tucked her hair behind her left ear and blushed.

"You want to walk?" asked Jace.

Clary nodded. They began to walk along the perimeter of the house.

"How long have you lived here?" Asked Jace.

"All my life. I was born here."

Jace nodded. "The first time I'd lived anywhere but the place I was born was when I went to the Institute, too."

They were behind the house now, and they saw the stable.

"Is this where you keep your horses?" Jace asked.

"Yeah."

"How many do you have?"

"Four. One for each of us."

"What are their names?"

"Artemis- that's Jonathan's, Aphrodite- that's mom's, Athena- that's father's, and Hera- she's mine. My father thought we should name them after Greek goddesses."

Jace glanced at her. "We should ride sometime."

"Yeah," Clary blushed again, looking at the ground.

They reached the end of the stable, and Jace stuck out his arm to stop her.

She looked up at him.

Jace was looking at something around the corner, holding Clary back.

"What?" she asked in a hushed voice. "What do you see?"

Jace lowered his arm and looked at her. "See for yourself," he whispered.

Clary peeked around the corner and gasped.

Next to her family's rock lined pool were Jonathan and Isabelle. They were sitting on the ground, making out. Isabelle's legs were wrapped around Jonathan's waist, and her hands were in his hair. Jonathan's arms were wrapped around Isabelle's back.

Clary couldn't help but stare.

She heard Jace chuckle. "I guess they're together now."

"I guess so..." Clary hadn't taken her eyes off of them.

"We should go the other way."

Clary nodded. She pulled her gaze off of them and followed Jace back toward the front of the stable. Her mind went back to Jonathan and Isabelle. Clary had actually never seen kissing like that. She'd seen her parents kiss, and the characters in her manga and other books, and she'd seen some couples kissing when she'd gone to Alicante or Pandemonium, too, but she'd never seen it like that... Clary bumped into Jace and was pulled out of her thoughts.

Jace looked over his shoulder and chuckled at her.

Clary blushed.

They heard laughing- Jonathan and Isabelle's laughing- and Clary jumped. She could hear them coming closer. Clary ran to the front of the stable and opened the door.

Jace came in behind her.

She slid the door shut quickly behind him.

Jace started laughing.

Clary looked at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he chuckled.

Clary looked at Artemis' stall, there were two pairs of shoes sitting there and two folded up towels. Clary's eyes widened, the eight inch boots were _clearly_ Isabelle's. Clary heard Isabelle and Jonathan's voices from right outside the front door. She grabbed Jace's hand and pulled him into the tack room, and peeked out the cracked door. The tack room lights were off, making it pitch black except for the sliver of light that came in from the partially open door.

Jace came up behind her and looked over her head.

Clary could feel Jace's breath on the back of her neck, and shivered.

Isabelle and Jonathan came in, water ran off of both of them.

Isabelle was laughing at something Jonathan had said.

He shut the the stable door and smoothed back his hair.

Isabelle walked up to Artemis' stall and picked up a towel.

Jonathan came up beside her and took one, too.

"I had fun," said Isabelle.

"Yeah, me too," said Jonathan. He kissed Isabelle again.

Clary felt Jace put a hand on her shoulder. "I can't take anymore of this."

Clary looked over her shoulder at him.

He switched on the light and opened the door, grabbing an apple on the way out. "Oh," he said. "Are we interrupting something?"

Isabelle and Jonathan broke apart, looking shocked.

Jace smirked and Clary came out behind him, feeling a little awkward.

Jonathan saw Clary and his eyes widened. "We were just... Uh..." he scratched the back of his head.

"Drying off," Isabelle finished. "But I guess you guys were, too?"

Clary looked down at herself. She'd forgotten she was soaking wet. Her gray blouse was soaked through and clinging to her skin. She blushed.

"We came out to pay a visit to Hera, actually," Jace held up the apple in his hand. "It's a bit wet outside."

Isabelle and Jonathan's eyes were full of suspicion as they eyed them.

Clary wondered what they were thinking.

"Why were you out in the rain?" asked Jace- though Clary knew he already knew the answer.

Jonathan cleared his throat. "I was showing Isabelle the pool."

Jace's eyebrow went up. "In the _rain_?"

"I didn't believe him when he said he had a pool, so he showed me," Isabelle's words were slow, robotic.

Jace smirked. "I see."

"Well, thank you for showing me," said Isabelle to Jonathan. She picked up her boots, and left.

Jonathan waited a few seconds after she was gone before leaving, too.

Jace chuckled. "Everyone knows about those two, I don't know why they go to such lengths to hide it."

Clary smiled. "Yeah, no kidding."

Jace looked at the gold name tags on the top of each stall, then walked up to Hera's, and gave her the apple.

Hera was a regular sized horse, though she was slightly smaller than the others. She had a chestnut coat with a white stripe down the front of her face, and a white stocking on her front right hand leg.

"She's beautiful," said Jace, stroking Hera's face.

Clary looked at her horse.

Valentine had gotten Hera for Clary when she was ten. It was her birthday present- just as for Jonathan's tenth birthday, he'd gotten Artemis.

Valentine had started a tradition of naming the horses after Greek goddesses. "_Aphrodite- the goddess of love, beauty and pleasure. Athena- goddess of wisdom, courage and warfare. Artemis- goddess of wilderness, childbirth and virginity. What will you name your horse, Clarissa_?"

Clary- who had already been well educated on Greek mythology by that time- chose Hera- goddess of marriage, childbirth and queen of the goddesses. And though Hera was full of hatred, Clary's horse wasn't, she was gentle, loving and patient. Clary had learned how to run on Hera, and Hera had stopped next to Clary whenever she had fallen. Hera reminded Clary a lot of Jonathan.

"Yes," Clary said. "Yes she is."

* * *

Fourteen year old Clary Morgenstern deflected another swing of her brother's training sword. Clary swung at him then, grunting with the force she'd put into it.

Her brother, Jonathan, deflected her easily.

Clary swung again and again, trying to hit him, but he just blocked her.

Jonathan started swinging at Clary.

Clary struggled to dodge and deflect. Jonathan walked towards as he swung, and Clary was stumbling back as she tried to block him.

"Clary! Look-"

Clary tripped and fell backwards onto a rack of swords. She cried out as she tumbled over the fallen swords.

"Clary!" Jonathan called out.

Clary rolled off the swords. She could feel pain on her legs, back and arms, and she could see blood on the floor.

"Clary..." She could hear Jonathan kneeling beside her. "Clary, are you alright?"

Clary was biting her bottom lip, trying not to cry.

Jonathan took her arm. She felt the familiar burn of a rune being drawn on her arm, and the pain eased.

"Clary, are you alright?" Jonathan's voice was full of concern.

"Fine. Just fine," Clary squeaked.

Jonathan helped Clary sit up.

She looked at the blood on the floor, on some of the swords and her clothes. There were tears in her clothes, too, where the pain had been.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Clary," said Jonathan.

"It isn't your fault," said Clary. "I should have watched where I was going."

Jonathan put his stele into his belt and wrapped his arms around his sister.

She returned the gesture.

Clary's sixteen year old brother, Jonathan, had always been super protective of her. She found this out for the first time when she was four years old, and Aline Penhallow had tried to talk to her, but Jonathan had told her to go away. Jonathan probably didn't know she knew.

Jonathan pulled away and put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"I'm fine. You drew the rune, I'm alright."

"Are you _sure_?" It was all seriousness in his eyes.

Clary blinked at him. "I'm. Fine."

Their mother's voice crackled over the intercom. "Clary, Jonathan, dinner!"

Jonathan didn't move.

Clary stood up and held down the button. "Be there in a few."

Right now, the Morgensterns were at their much smaller vacation house in Alicante. It was very different from their house at their estate. The walls were plaster, and all mint green, ice blue or lavender and all the floors were made of cherry wood. There was a training room, five bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, living room, family room and a large front room with a walk in coat closet.

"Let's get changed," said Clary, walking out of the training room.

She took a quick shower to get all the partially dry blood off of her skin, then dressed in black pants and a gray silk blouse.

When she stepped out of her room, Jonathan was waiting there.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Jonathan!" Clary speed walked down the hall.

"Sorry," he said, following. "I'm being annoying."

"Yes, you are. I'm fine! It was just a little blood, not a big deal."

"It is to me."

"Why? It's my blood!"

"Sorry..."

Clary stopped, took a deep breath, and turned around. "Jonathan... I'm not a little girl anymore, you don't have to constantly ask if I'm alright. It was _just_ a few cuts."

Jonathan nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Clary let out a breath, then smiled. "Hey, thanks."

He frowned. "For what?"

"For the _iratze_, and for being a good brother."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

"Finally," said Valentine. "Your dinners are getting cold."

"Sorry," said Clary. She sat at the rectangular four person table across from her mother.

Jonathan sat next to her and across from Valentine.

"Did you have a good time training?" asked Jocelyn.

Jonathan paled.

"Yeah," said Clary, serving herself a helping of mashed potatoes. "Not very eventful. Jonathan won the duel again."

Jonathan was staring at her.

"Hungry?" asked Clary. She served him some mashed potatoes, too.

"How is her strategy, Jonathan?" Asked Valentine, stabbing a piece of cut stake with his fork and popping it into his mouth. "Jonathan?"

Clary kicked him under the table. His gaze turned to Valentine. "Improving."

"Excellent!"

Clary began to cut the steak on her plate.

"We're going out tomorrow," said Jocelyn, forking a green bean.

"Good," said Clary. "I've been in this house for too long."

Clary was walking through Alicante with her brother.

"Where would you like to go?" asked Jonathan.

Clary shrugged. "Anywhere," Clary loved visiting Alicante, it was the most lively place she'd ever been to in her life. She marveled at the tall buildings, demon towers and the people everywhere. She'd only been able to go to Alicante every few years, and that was when she wanted to interact with people, but Jonathan had always told her it was a bad idea.

Jonathan and Clary were sitting in a grassy area off to the side of the city. Clary was tilting her head back, watching the few puffy white clouds in the sky.

She heard Jonathan growl under his breath next to her and looked at him. "What is it?"

Jonathan was glaring at a group of boys talking, and they seemed to be looking at Jonathan. "Stay here," he said, his voice angry. He stood up and walked over to them. Clary couldn't quite hear what they were saying.

Clary frowned, recognizing the boy Jonathan was talking to, though she couldn't remember from where. Then, it hit her.

Clary had once found an album that her mother had put together. The album was full of pictures of her parents' friends' families. This boy was from that album, and Clary was pretty sure at the top of that page, it had said '_the Waylands_'.

Behind the Wayland boy and her brother were three more boys. Clary didn't recognized any of them, though.

The Wayland boy walked back to his group of friends, and they all left.

Jonathan sat back down next to her.

"What was that about?" asked Clary.

"Oh, nothing. Just some cocky ass hole. He's leaving now."

Clary frowned in confusion, but just turned her vision back towards the sky.

* * *

**Sneaks peeks at my website :)**

**Since I can't post links on here, it's in my profile :)**

**Alright, releasing an additional chapter today as a special treat ;) Hope you liked this one and the next one.**

**Also, thanks for the reviews. They make me so happy :D**


	11. Chapter 11

"We're going to meet you there," said Jocelyn. "Ragnor will be by in an hour or so to make the portal to Alicante."

"Alright," said Clary. "You look beautiful, by the way."

Jocelyn was in a slim fitting emerald green silk dress with a boatneck and an open back, and the gown fell to her ankles. Her red hair was in an updo that showed off her curls. "Thank you, Clary," she grinned. "Oh, and Isabelle?"

Isabelle, Alec, Jonathan, Jace and Clary were all in the front room, seeing Valentine and Jocelyn off. It was their anniversary, and they didn't want to be late for their party.

"Yes?"

"Could you do Clary's hair and makeup? I've already gotten her a dress, it's in her closet."

"Of course!"

Clary stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She had blow dried her hair, and her curls fell down her back, silky to the touch.

She opened her closet and looked for the white dry cleaning bag Jocelyn had put her dress into long ago. She pulled it out and laid it on her bed. She pulled out the pair of shoes that her mother had gotten to go with it and the accessories.

She slipped the dress on over her head and looked in the full length mirror.

The dress was perfect. It was slim fitting and silk, and a beautiful champagne color that suited her perfectly. It hugged her chest and fell loosely to her ankles, and the straps crossed in the back and in the front. The beads on the upper part of her chest caught the lighting well and made them shimmer.

There was a knock on her room door.

"Come in," Clary didn't look away from the mirror.

Isabelle walked in, looking beautiful. Her dress was tight and red, with the inch thick straps falling off both shoulders, and there was a slit going all the way up her left thigh, showing off her long legs, and black knee high eight inch leather boots. Her pendant rested in the cradle of her throat, and her hair was in a ponytail that spilled ringlets. And her whip was coiled around her right hand wrist.

"Wow," said Isabelle and Clary is unison, looking at each other.

"You look amazing," said Isabelle. "Though, you still need makeup."

Clary nodded. "I know."

Isabelle put a towel over Clary's shoulders to keep her dress from getting dirty. She covered Clary's face with makeup. "Do you have something in mind for your hair?"

"Not really," said Clary. "But I have this," Clary picked up a gold and beaded hair thing with a long thin black chopstick looking thing with a sharp tip.

Isabelle studied it. "I can work with this," Isabelle pulled Clary's hair into a twist, and put the hair thing in. "Shoes?"

Clary pointed to the four inch heels her mother had picked out for her. They had clear straps with gold sparkles.

Isabelle put them on her. "One last thing."

Clary raised her eyebrow.

Isabelle held something up.

Clary wasn't quite sure what it was.

"It's to go on your thigh, under your dress."

"_What_?! Why?"

"Just in case. It will hold a knife, and your stele, and it won't show, don't worry."

Clary blinked at her. "... Seriously?"

"Just in case. You never know. I've got my whip, stele and dagger on me right now."

Clary looked at Isabelle's wrist and boots. "Fine."

Isabelle helped Clary put in on her left thigh, and stuck a knife and her stele into it. When she dropped the skirt back down, it was invisible.

"See? You can't see anything, and you still look babelicious!"

Clary's eyebrows knit together. "Did you just say '_babelicious_'?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Just look!" She turned her toward the mirror and Clary froze.

She looked _beautiful_. The heels made her just a little bit taller, and her makeup went perfectly with her dress. Her hair was back, but a long curl hung past her right shoulder. "Thank you, Isabelle."

Isabelle smirked. "Come on. The boys already left. Your warlock is waiting."

Ragnor Fell was looking slightly annoyed when they came out. "Finally," he said. He aimed his hands at the wall, and opened the portal. "By the way, you look lovely, Clarissa."

Clary smiled. "Thank you, Ragnor."

Clary and Isabelle stepped through the portal.

On the other side, there was a dark red stone courtyard, and the sky was black, sprinkled with stars. The building was tall, and castle like, and witchlight lit the outside. The two, tall front doors were wide open, letting light out of the ballroom and onto the courtyard. There were men in tuxedos and women in fancy dresses walking around the courtyard and socializing inside.

"Ready?" asked Isabelle.

Clary nodded, and they made their way inside.

They entered the ballroom. There was classical music being performed on the far left side of the room, and people dancing to it, there were waiters and waitresses carrying around trays with champagne glasses on it, and people all around socializing.

Clary saw Jace, Alec and Jonathan toward the back of the room, talking.

"There they are," said Isabelle. "Let's go."

They walked toward them. When they got there, their conversation stopped, and all went went onto Clary and Isabelle.

Clary blushed as Jace looked her up and down.

"You look lovely," said Jace just as Jonathan said-

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you," said Isabelle.

"Yes, you look nice, too," said Jace.

Isabelle shot him a glare.

"I think you both do," said Jonathan.

"Thanks," said Clary, blushing.

Jonathan held his hand out to Isabelle. "Would you like to dance?"

Isabelle giggled. "You _dance_?"

"Of course I do, I'm a gentleman."

Isabelle laughed and took his hand. They walked off toward the dance floor.

Alec saw something behind Clary and stiffened.

Jace seemed to see it, too, but glanced at Alec.

Clary looked behind her.

In the entryway of the ballroom was Magnus Bane.

"Clary, could you give us a moment?" Asked Jace.

Clary nodded, and walked away. She watched from a distance.

Jace was saying something to Alec, and his face turned to a mask of horror and shock.

* * *

Jonathan lead Isabelle to the dancefloor.

"You look beautiful," said Jonathan.

Isabelle smiled. "Not so bad yourself.

Jonathan chuckled.

"Jonathan?" Isabelle's tone had changed. She sounded slightly more serious, and a tiny bit saddened.

"Yes? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just..." she trailed off.

"What is it, Izzy?"

She sighed. "After tonight, I'm going back to New York. How is this gonna work?"

Jonathan swallowed. "... We could write to each other. I know it sounds like a cliche, but I really like you, Isabelle, and I don't want something like distance to keep us apart."

Isabelle's face transformed into an emotion that Jonathan wasn't sure he could place, but it looked a little like sadness. "... I would actually like that."

Jonathan smiled and so did Isabelle.

"Maybe I can visit New York sometime, see outside of Idris," said Jonathan.

A smile played on Isabelle's lips. "You should, I need to introduce you to a cell phone."

Jonathan frowned. "A what?"

* * *

Simon tugged uncomfortably at his bow tie. He wasn't used to wearing such formal attire, but Maia had told him that this event was like the red carpet, and even _she_ was dressing up.

Simon looked around the room. A lot of people were either ignoring him, or staring. Simon didn't know why he'd agreed to come to this event anyway, it wasn't for vampires, it was for shadowhunters, and he didn't even really know anybody.

Maia's pack leader, Lucian, had been invited to an anniversary party or something, and was told he could bring his pack. Maia didn't want to leave Simon out, so she took _two_ dates- which made Simon feel awkward as hell, so he stayed as far away from Maia, her orange, ankle length halter dress, and Jordan as possible.

Simon couldn't take it, he swiftly walked toward the exit, but on his way there, he bumped into someone.

"Sorry," he said awkwardly as he turned.

"Oh, sorry-"

Simon's eyes widened when he saw who it was. This _wasn't_ possible.

"Simon?"

"Clary, hi."

"Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?" she looked pleased to see him- which was surprising.

"Oh... I came with a friend. What are you doing here?"

"It's my parents' anniversary party."

Simon's eyes widened. "_Seriously_?"

"Yeah. It's so weird that we just keep running into each other like this!"

"Yeah, I can't believe it," Simon was worried she hated him or something, but she seemed pleasantly surprised.

"Um... Would you like to dance?" She asked.

Simon's eyebrows shot up. "Would your boyfriend be okay with that?"

Clary frowned. "Boyfriend?"

Simon shook his head. "Never mind. Sure," he took Clary's hand, and she lead him to the dance floor.

They danced slowly and awkwardly.

"So, who did you come here with?" Asked Clary. "Do you have a Shadowhunter girlfriend or something?"

Simon shook his head. "Nope. No girlfriend. My friend, Maia, took me as her second date because she didn't want to leave me out or something."

Clary laughed. "And Maia? How is she here?"

"She's in a wolf pack, and her alpha is a guest or something."

Clary nodded.

Simon was very aware of the dozens of pairs of eyes on them, and hearing things like-

_"Is that Clarissa Morgenstern? Why is she dancing with a downworlder?"_

Clary seemed oblivious to all their judgment. It was times like this when Simon wished he _couldn't_ hear everything.

"Excuse me," said a man who had approached them. "You don't mind, do you? I have something of an urgent matter I need to discuss with Miss Morgenstern right away."

Simon looked at Clary.

She shrugged. "Alright," she let go of Simon. "We can continue this later, okay?"

Simon nodded. "Sure."

He watched her start walking with the man.

"My name is Emil Pangborn, and I have a very important matter I must discuss with you. May we talk in the courtyard?"

Clary looked at him in confusion. "Certainly."

And they left the ballroom.

* * *

Jonathan and Isabelle joined Jace. They followed his gaze, which lead to Magnus and Alec, kissing.

several pairs of eyes were on him.

Jace was smirking.

"I knew it," said Isabelle.

"I think everyone knew it," said Jonathan.

Isabelle turned to Jace. "Did you do this?"

Jace nodded. "I'm glad he's finally discovered himself."

"Who's gay now?" said Jonathan.

Jace rolled his eyes, then looked around. "Anyone seen Clary?"

Jonathan scanned the room, but didn't see Clary. "Wasn't she with you?"

"She _was_."

"We should look for her," said Isabelle.

"Oh there you are!" Said Jocelyn. "I've been looking for you. I wanted to introduce you to someone... Where's Clary?"

"That's what we were wondering," said Jace. "I'll look for her."

"Me, too," said Isabelle.

"I'll be back as soon as I find Clary," Jonathan said to Jocelyn.

They all split off to look for Clary.

"Um... Excuse me," said a boy- a vampire, Jonathan could tell.

"Sorry, I really don't have time-"

"You're looking for Clary?"

Jonathan frowned. "Eavesdropper, I see. Who are you?"

"Simon. Simon Lewis."

_Simon_, Jonathan thought, _wasn't that the name of Clary's vampire friend from Pandemonium_? "Where did you meet Clary?"

"Pandemonium, a nightclub, why?" Simon frowned.

"Just checking. What about my sister?"

"_Sister_?" a strange look passed his face. "Sorry. Anyway, she walked out with some guy. Pangborn, I think."

"You're sure?"

Simon nodded.

"Thank you, Simon Lewis," the Jonathan headed for the courtyard.

* * *

Simon watched Clary's brother leave the building. Clary had been gone for a while now, and Simon had gotten a little concerned.

"Sorry, do I know you?"

Simon turned to see the girl with the black hair in a red dress. _Isabelle_, he thought.

"I think so. You were at Pandemonium?"

Isabelle's eyes sparked with recognition. "Oh yeah, you're that vampire from the club. What are you doing here?" She frowned, then waved her hand. "Never mind. You haven't see Clary, have you? You danced with her-"

"I have. She left with someone named Pangborn- a man."

Her eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry, did you say _Pangborn_? Are you _sure_?"

"I think that's what he said his name was."

Isabelle looked scared all of the sudden. She ran away from him, and the opposite way from the door.

Simon watched her run up to a redheaded woman in a green silk dress.

"Jocelyn!"

"Isabelle? What's-"

"I've overheard some conversations before. Is Pangborn bad?"

Jocelyn's face changed. "Why?" she seemed worried.

"Because he's left with Clary."

* * *

**If you want a sneak peek into the next chapter, the link is in my profile ;)**

**I'm posting chapter 12 on Sunday**


	12. Chapter 12

**Yes, Jonathan is 'normal' and so are Clary and Jace. All three are fully Shadowhunter. _But_, Clary's getting runes in her dreams. You have yet to find out what that's about ;)**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

"She's still moving," said Ragnor Fell, looking down at a map of Europe, the little 'X' that signified Clary, moving about.

"But can you pinpoint her location?" asked Jocelyn frantically.

It had been three days since the anniversary party, and still no sign of Clary. Jace, Alec and Isabelle had been invited to stay until Clary was found.

"No, like I said, she keeps moving," said Ragnor.

Jonathan slammed his fists down on the table. "Dammit!" He started pacing, and Isabelle watched him from her chair.

Jace was standing next to Jocelyn, intently looking at the map.

"I'm sorry," said Ragnor. "There's something else going on here, no human can go that fast."

"What can?" asked Alec- who was standing on the opposite side as Jace.

"Not horses," said Ragnor. "Maybe a plane."

Jocelyn whimpered.

Alec put a hand on her shoulder awkwardly, trying to comfort her.

"Don't worry," said Jace. "We'll find her."

"I never should have let her out of my site," said Jonathan angrily.

"This isn't your fault," said Isabelle.

"_Oh_, yes it is."

"Shut up," said Ragnor. "I'm trying to track, here. It's awfully difficult when you're bickering."

The little 'X' on the map took a sharp right turn.

"This isn't very predictable."

* * *

Clary woke up to her stomach growling. When she opened her eyes, she didn't recognize her surroundings. She sat up rapidly, panicking. She was on a train- she could feel and hear it.

She was lying on a bed in a small room, which steadily rocked back and forth. The room had pinkish red walls, a short ceiling, and a red couch pushed up against a window.

Clary ran up to the window and looked out. There was a moving, damp looking forest out the window, and the sky was light. She was on a train.

She dashed to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. Clary pounded on it. "Let me out!" she demanded.

"Sorry, girly," she heard from the other side. "I can't do that," it was a man's voice, and it was taunting her.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Clary didn't remember what had happened once she'd entered the courtyard with Pangborn.

"My name is Blackwell, and you're on a train. We're somewhere on Germany, I think."

"Germany?! What are we doing in _Germany_?! Where's Pangborn?"

"Pangborn is on break," he sounded almost annoyed now. "And you're here because of your parents."

"... My... Parents?" Clary wasn't sure what was going on here.

"They'll pay handsomely to get you back, yes?"

Clary backed away from the door. She'd been kidnapped, and she _knew_ that they would pay to get her back. "You're wasting your time," she lied. "They won't. They probably haven't noticed I'm gone."

"Then they must be very neglectful, because its been three days."

Clary's eyes widened, and she couldn't hide her shock. "_Three days_?!"

Clary remembered the last time she'd slept for three days. She'd had somewhat of a more pleasant wake up, even if she'd thought she'd lost her arm.

Blackwell chuckled.

Clary sat on the couch and stared at the floor. Her stomach growled and her throat was dry.

She thought of her mother, her father and Jonathan worried sick. The thought of their pain made her want to cry, but she didn't want to give Blackwell the satisfaction. She thought of Jace, too, wondering if she'd ever see him again.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Jace," she whispered inaudibly. "Jace, I'm sorry... And I love you."

* * *

"Jocelyn, you've got a message," said Valentine, entering the room. He handed a whimpering Jocelyn the firemail, and she ripped it open.

Jocelyn read it over and gasped. "They want money," she said quietly.

Jonathan stopped pacing. "Then give it to them!"

"We can't," said Valentine. "We've got no guarantee they'd give Clary back. They may kill her if we give them what they want."

Jocelyn choked out a sob, and Valentine pulled her into his chest.

Jonathan bit down hard on his tongue, and continued to pace.

Jace swallowed.

"What else could we do?" asked Jonathan.

Just then, the 'X' disappeared.

Jocelyn gasped.

Jonathan came over and looked. "Where is she?"

"... It disappeared," said Ragnor. "I'm sorry... I think Clarissa is dead."

* * *

Clary took off her heels, and hit them repeatedly against the window, trying to break it, but it did nothing.

Blackwell laughed from the other side of the door. "Bullet proof glass. There's no way you could break it, a tiny thing like you!" He laughed again.

Clary growled. "If I'm so tiny, why don't you be a man and face me?!"

"I'd love to," he said sarcastically. "But boss' orders, you aren't to leave your cell."

Clary chucked the shoe at the window, and it bounced off.

"Blackwell," she heard a new voice from outside the door. "She wants to see her now."

"Sure," said Blackwell.

Clary's eyes widened as she remembered the dagger Isabelle had made her wear in her thigh strap. She hiked up her skirt, pulled put the dagger, and sat on the couch. She slouched and put her face in her left hand, and concealed the knife with the other.

The door unlocked, and the men walked in.

"Aw," said Blackwell. "She's crying! What's the matter? Do you miss your mommy?"

Clary was really nervous about what she was about to do. She looked up from her hand, lept off the couch, and drove the dagger into Pangborn's stomach.

He cried out in pain, and she went around him- using him to make sure Backwell didn't get her. She made a dash for the door, and began running down a window lined hall.

She saw a door that lead to out of the train just as a pair of arm wrapped around her. She screamed.

"You're not getting away from me that easily, little girl," snarled Blackwell.

His arms were around Clary's forearms, preventing her from moving a lot.

She improvised. She leaned her head down as far left as she could, and grabbed the chopstick from her hair piece. She yanked it out, and stabbed Blackwell's thigh.

He cried out in pain, and his grip loosened.

Clary broke away, throwing the door open. A harsh, icy wind blew up her dress, and through her now free red hair. She leapt carelessly off the train, and into the forest. She hit the ground with a painful force, knocking the wind out of her. Then, she began rolling down the steep, tree covered hill.

She could feel things scraping, cutting and bruising her as she tumbled, and she heard her dress tearing.

She finally stopped, and the world whirled around her. She retched on some dead leaves. that covered the ground, and staggered to her feet.

She began to run as deep into the forest as she possibly could, feeling the sting of her bleeding cuts.

She heard the train's brakes, and knew her time was running out. She tripped on a stone, and fell into a shallow pond. She climbed out, and coughed. Her heart was hammering, and she was freezing. She stood, and started to run again, though she was limping a little.

* * *

"Simon? _Earth_ to Simon!"

Simon blinked and looked over at Maia. "What?"

"Dude, you did nothing that whole round, are you okay?"

Simon looked at the video game controller in his hand. "Yeah, I'm fine." Simon's mind kept wandering back to Clary, wondering if she was alright. He had seen some of the people at the party frantically run around, talking about Pangborn being bad news, and asking if anyone had seen her. Simon had never figured out what happened, and he kept thinking about it.

"Is this about what happened at the party?" Asked Maia. She didn't know anymore than Simon did, but she knew they couldn't do anything about it.

"No," he lied. "I'm just tired."

Maia looked a little disappointed. "Oh... Okay."

Simon stood up. "See you tomorrow."

Simon lay in bed, not sure if he could get to sleep. He felt that it was his fault, because that guy had come _right up_ to Simon, and gotten his _permission_ to take Clary. What was he going to do to her? Simon's stomach turned as he imagined the worst.

_Clary_, he thought, _please be safe_.

* * *

Clary could no longer feel her feet. She was breathing hard, and saw little puffs of breath as she went.

She couldn't stop running, she thought, not even for a minute.

She tripped over something- though she couldn't feel it- and tumbled to the ground. She was coughing, and breathing hard, looking at the light gray sky through the bare tree branches.

She wheezed and coughed for a minute, then she heard the distant sound of her name being called.

She sat up, knowing that she'd have to run again, but her legs protested. She couldn't get up.

She felt something pressing into her left thigh and remembered she still had her stele.

She pulled up her ripped and dirty skirt, and pulled the stele from her thigh strap.

She thought for a second, but wasn't sure what rune to use.

The voices came closer, and Clary panicked. She put the tip of her stele to a tree, letting her hand do what it wanted without her brain interfering. The stele nearly fell out of her numb hand, but she managed to finish the rune. She looked at it after for a second. She wasn't sure what this rune meant- then again, her mind wasn't thinking properly, and she couldn't remember any other runes, either.

The rune glowed slightly, and it seemed to swirl the tree.

She heard the voices getting closer.

The rune transformed into a... Portal?

_What_, Clary thought? _I thought only warlocks could make portals_.

The voices got closer and Clary didn't question it any more. She used all of her strength to stand, squeezed her eyes shut, and thought one thing- home.

She took a step forward.

Clary was falling. She hit the top of a dusty wood plank of some kind, and fell off the side. She screamed, fell about twenty feet, bounced off of a couch, and thumped hard onto the ground, getting the wind knocked out of her. She gasped desperately, trying to block out the pain. She tried to look around. Was this the _institute_? She couldn't bring herself to sit up. Clary was still gasping for air, unable to stop.

Clary knew they wouldn't be here. She reached out, and pulled her stele to her.

She used all of her strength to sit up, her breathing beginning to slow.

She crawled over to the wall and copied the rune she'd drawn on the tree. It began to swirl in the same way.

She used the shelf to force herself up, and stepped through, thinking of the white marble floors of the house she'd grown up in.

* * *

Jace had stormed off when he'd heard Ragnor Fell say that Clary was dead. He didn't want to believe it.

He found himself in the training room when he collapsed onto the floor.

_Clary_, he thought, _Why? Why did you leave me?_

He heard a strange sound from the left side of the room, and looked.

There was a portal on the wall.

_What_?

A figure stepped through, and at first, he thought he must be dreaming.

"Clary?" It couldn't be, he must have been dreaming.

Clary's hair was wet, messy and down, and her dress was filthy and torn, covered in dirt and blood. She had cuts up and down her arms, legs and face, and her skin had dirt smudges and dried blood. Clary's lips were blue, and her nose and cheeks red. She was shivering. Her stele was in the grip of her right hand.

The portal closed behind her, and she fell to the ground.

"Clary!" Jace got to his feet, and ran to her side, then dropped to his knees. "Clary!" He touched her bare arms- they were cold to the touch. Her skin was covered with goose bumps, and she was breathing, but raggedly. "Clary..." he whispered. "You're alive," he was pretty sure there were tears in his eyes.

He lifted Clary onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her freezing cold body. "Clary," he whispered in her ear. "Thank you..." He lifted her into his arms and walked out of the training room.

He speed walked down the stairs and went into the library. "She needs help!"

Heads turned, eyes widened, and people gasped.

"Clary!" Jonathan yelled, running toward Jace.

The second Jonathan touched her skin, he gasped.

The others were there instantly, and Jocelyn looked relieved and horrified at the same time.

"Out of the way," said Ragnor, making his way to Clary. He touched Clary's forehead. "Jocelyn, I'll need warm water, Valentine, I'll need washcloths and Alec, lots of blankets. Go!"

They ran from the room. Jace brought Clary to a couch, and set her down.

"Do you have a stele?" Asked Ragnor.

Jace pulled it out and began to draw an _iratze_ on her arm.

"We'll start with that."

Isabelle was looking at Clary with a terrified expression.

"Isabella, please get bandages."

Isabelle didn't correct him, she just ran to complete the task.

Jace finished the iratze.

Clary's wounds began to close back up.

Jace grabbed Clary's icy hand and held it with both of his.

Ragnor hovered his hands over her and a light came from his palms. He frowned. "Oh."

"What?"

"... Her unwellness is all from _mundane_ problems. You actually don't need me to do anything, she'll be fine."

Jace breathed a sigh of relief.

Ragnor stood, and moved out of the way.

Jace moved in closer to her. "Clary," he said. "I love you."

* * *

**I think this was my favorite to write and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did :)**

**Also, I finished writing the story yesterday (As in Saturday). I hope you'll enjoy it :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm glad you all liked the last chapter :) I hope you like this one, too**

* * *

Clary could hear voices in the distance, though she wasn't sure where they were coming from. She struggled in the blackness, and tried to recognize them- they sounded so familiar- but couldn't identify them.

"I saw her move, is she awake?"

"Not fully. She probably won't remember this at all."

Someone put there hand under her head.

"Clary, drink this."

Clary felt a warm cup touch her lips. She took a small sip- it tasted like herbal tea- then drank more. Not long after that, the whole cup was finished.

Clary felt incredibly weak.

The hand laid her head back on her pillow.

She was in that forest again, the trees bare and damp, and the forest floor covered with dead leaves.

Pangborn and Blackwell stood before her, weapons in hand.

Clary tried to back away, but fell backwards instead.

Pangborn smiled a wide toothy grin that terrified Clary more than anything.

Blackwell raised his weapon, and it came down on her.

Clary's body jerked.

"Clary? Clary, are you awake?" This voice, it was Jace's. _Jace_, she thought, _I must be dreaming_...

"Clary?" _Jonathan_?

"Maybe she's just dreaming," said Jace. "We shouldn't disturb her," _I am dreaming_, Clary thought, _don't let me wake up!_

Clary felt something warm and comforting on her hand. It wasn't Jonathan, she knew, it was someone else. It felt so nice...

"Jace," Clary murmured.

"I think she wants you," said Jonathan.

The grip on her hand tightened slightly. "She might still be asleep," said Jace.

Jonathan scoffed. "You wish."

Clary's eyes fluttered open. She was in her living room, in Idris. She could hear a fire crackling quietly in the fireplace. She had a few blankets draped over her body, and she felt warm. _This feels so real_, she thought.

"Clary?"

She turned her head slightly and saw Jace's face, and his gold eyes intently staring at her.

Clary smiled. "Am I dreaming?" She whispered. She knew what she wanted him to say, but she knew it wouldn't be true.

Jace's mouth pulled up at one corner. "You're not dreaming, you're finally awake."

Clary's heart leapt.

"Clary."

Clary glanced next to Jace.

"Jonathan," she smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

"Thirsty."

Jonathan nodded, and walked to somewhere Clary couldn't see.

She looked back at Jace. His hand was gripping hers. She gripped his hand back, and smiled. "How'd I get here?"

Jonathan came into view again, glass of water in hand. He handed the glass to Clary.

She pulled her head up a little and began gulping it down.

"Jace brought you down here," said Jonathan.

Clary finished her water, and handed Jonathan the glass. "I mean how did I get _back_ here? As in Idris."

Jonathan frowned. "We were hoping you could tell us that. What happened when Pangborn took you out of the ball?"

Clary frowned, concentrating. The memories passed by as she explained them. Clary stopped when she got to the part about the forest. "I don't remember more than that."

"Jace said you came in through a portal into the training room," said Jonathan.

Clary frowned. "_Portal_?"

"You must be missing a lot," said Jace. There was a story lingering behind Jace's eyes, and Clary wondered what had happened.

"We should let you rest," said Jonathan. "Ragnor said she'd need lots of rest," He stood and walked away.

Jace stood too, but Clary's grip on his hand tightened. "Stay," she pleaded.

He knelt back down beside her. "Always."

Clary woke up again. The fire was dying in the fireplace, only embers now.

She looked at Jace, asleep with his head next to her hand, but knees on the ground.

Clary couldn't help it. She reached her hand over and ran her fingers through his silky gold hair.

She glanced at the window. There was orange and pink light, signifying the sunrise. _This _isn't_ a dream_, Clary thought, _I'm back home_.

Clary frowned, trying to remember the gap in her memory, but nothing came. She shook her head.

Clary looked around the room. Isabelle was sleeping on a two person couch, her head resting on the arm. Alec was on the same couch- also sleeping- his head resting on the back. Jonathan was on a one person chair, also fast asleep, and Jocelyn and Valentine were lying on another two person couch, Valentine's arm draped over Jocelyn. Clary was the only one awake. She smiled.

Jace stirred and Clary pulled her hand away from his hair. He looked up at Clary and smiled. "You're awake," he said quietly.

Clary smiled. "So are you."

Jace looked out the window. "Is that dawn or dusk?"

"Dawn, I think. How long have I been asleep?"

Jace looked back at her. "You got here yesterday morning," he said. "So you've been sleeping a little less than twenty four hours."

"Wow, three days, then another day. That beats my record."

Jace smirked.

Clary's stomach growled.

"Are you hungry?"

"No," Clary lied. She didn't want him to leave.

Jace's mouth was pulled up at the corner. "I'll be right back, I promise," Jace stood up, then left the library.

Clary heard someone stir, but she wasn't sure who is was.

"Clary?"

Clary looked over at the now conscious Jonathan. "Hey."

He quickly stood up and came to the front of her couch. "Clary, you're alright."

Clary smiled. "Of course I am, Ragnor was here."

Jonathan's expression was kind, as it always was. "Actually, Ragnor didn't do anything."

Clary frowned. "He didn't?"

"No. He said you weren't poisoned or anything, you were just cold and tired."

Clary's eyebrows knit together. "_Seriously_?"

Jonathan nodded. "And thank the angel, too."

Clary grinned. "Yeah, I'll do that next time I see him."

Jonathan laughed.

Isabelle woke up. "Jonathan?"

Jonathan looked over at her. "Clary's awake."

Isabelle stood up, and wobbled over. Clary noticed she was wearing seven inch heels. "Clary, you're alright!"

"Shh!" Clary hissed. "Don't wake everyone up."

Isabelle waved her comment away. "Never mind them. What happened?"

Clary shook her head. "All I can say is, thanks for making me wear that stupid thigh strap."

Clary had discarded the very ruined silk dress into the garbage and took a long, hot shower. It was late morning now, and everyone had gone to the dining room while Clary ate and drank a ton of juice and french toast.

Everyone was really happy that Clary was alright. Apparently, dozens of Shadowhunters had been searching for her, and they had everyone's congratulations that Clary was home. They'd all asked for the story, and they were told what Clary knew.

Clary turned the hot shower water off and wrapped a towel around herself. She dressed in purple sweatpants, and a gray tank top.

She stepped out of the bathroom, and saw Jace, looking at her sketchbook. He held it up for her to see. "I see you _have_ drawn me in here."

Clary blushed bright red. "I told you-"

"It was sitting here open. I assure you, I haven't been snooping, just seeing what is on display."

Clary's face burned. This was the picture of Jace shirtless with angel wings.

Jace closed the book and set it on her nightstand. "You're a wonderful artist, by the way."

Clary was still blushing. "Thank you."

"... Are you going to train?"

Clary glanced down at herself. "Yeah."

"Mind if I join you?"

Clary smiled. "That'd be nice."

* * *

Jonathan was walking toward the training room. He heard the sounds of a sword fight, and peeked around the corner, careful not to be seen. He saw Clary and Jace in the middle of a duel. They both looked alive, and happy.

Jonathan sighed quietly. She'd found someone else to be in her life.

Jonathan had come into Clary's room earlier to talk to her, but she was in the shower. He'd seen her sketchbook on the nightstand, and opened it up. He flipped through the drawings, marveling at her talent. Then, he came across a drawing of Jace. Jonathan knew then that Clary was in love with him.

"Spymuch?"

Jonathan jumped and turned around. Isabelle was standing behind him, grinning.

"It's okay, I won't tell," Isabelle winked. She peeked around the corner, too, and giggled quietly. "Those two. They're cute together."

Jonathan snorted quietly. "If you say so."

Isabelle turned to look at him. "Are you jealous?"

Jonathan looked horrified. "I'm her _brother_," he hissed under his breath.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "_Not_ what I meant. I meant jealous of Jace because Clary's spending so much time with him."

Jonathan let out a breath, then looked back into the room. He shrugged.

Isabelle put her hand on his shoulder. "She's a woman now, Jonathan," she said in a faux mom voice.

Jonathan tried not to laugh. "She's only _fifteen_."

"Well..." Isabelle turned him to face her. "So am I- well, close," She pulled him to her and kissed him.

* * *

Clary saw a portal in front of her, she could see her home in Idris through it. Clary struggled to stand, and she stepped through.

Her numb feet touched the white marble floor.

There was a figure crouched on the ground looking at her. "Clary?"

She heard the portal close behind her, and all of her strength vanished. She fell to the ground.

"Clary!" Someone ran to her side. "Clary!" This voice... It was _Jace_.

Clary's senses were failing her. She could only feel pain and numbness, and it was faint, and she could see nothing. Her hearing was slipping from her grasp.

"Clary..." He whispered. "You're alive."

Clary felt something warm around her, and warm breath on her ear.

"Clary," he whispered. "Thank you..."

Clary's eyes shot open, and she sat up in her bed. Jace's voice echoed in her head. She shut her eyes, thinking of him.

Clary turned on her lamp and pulled out her sketchbook. She flipped to the next clean page, and began to sketch Jace from her dream, how she imagined he'd be holding her. She drew Jace looking at her face, holding her, and she drew how she felt. She drew cuts, bruises and dirt on her, and drew how her shredded dress looked when she'd thrown it away.

After she finished, she took a deep breath and looked at the clock. It was ten.

She put her sketchpad away, and got into the shower.

She let the steaming hot water run through her hair and down her back. An image fought to be remembered, but the more Clary tried to grasp it, the farther it slipped away. It vanished, and Clary came back into reality. One hand was extended to the shower door, her index finger drawing in the steam. It looked like a rune of some kind. Clary was pretty sure it was in her notebook full of dream runes.

After she got dressed, she walked into the library, found the notebook, and sat on the couch. She flipped through the pages till she found the rune. She let her finger trace over it slowly. She got a flash of an image- the rune drawn on a tree. The image disappeared, but Clary remembered what she'd seen. She stared down at the rune on the page, wondering why her rune had been drawn on a tree.

Clary turned to the page to the one with the rune she'd drawn on Jace. Her handwriting was below it. _It makes you see the ones you love_, Clary had written. That night felt like years ago- though it had only been a week and a half ago.

"Clary?"

Clary snapped the book shut. She turned to see Jonathan.

"You're not going to experiment with more random runes, are you?" His voice had a hint of judgment.

Clary shook her head. "Just checking something..."

Jonathan looked briefly suspicious. "Anyway, it's decided, everyone's going back to New York tomorrow."

"Oh..."

"You're found now, so there isn't any reason for them to stay..."

"Right, of course," Clary didn't even think about it. She didn't want to say goodbye yet.

"Clary... You could _stay_ if you want..."

Clary looked up at him.

He was looking at his shoes, arms crossed over his chest.

"... I can't..."

"You don't have to stay with them anymore if you don't want to, Clary."

"It's not that... I... I want to continue living in New York.

"Is this because of Jace?"

Clary's eyes widened. "No. W- what makes you say that?" Clary was blushing

Jonathan gave a small smile. "A brother _knows_, Clarissa..."

"Like I know about Isabelle?"

Jonathan looked at her. "That's different," he said. "I don't... I don't _love_ Isabelle."

Clary looked down, blushing bright red. "You were the one who was looking through my sketchbook, weren't you?"

There was no response.

"No, it's not only because of Jace. It's also because of Isabelle and Alec and Maryse... And New York. I like it there. Things _happen_."

Jonathan looked back down and nodded. "I see."

Clary looked up at him. "You know, just because I like New York doesn't mean I love you less."

He looked at her and smiled. "I love you, too."

* * *

Jonathan watched his sister embrace their mother. "I'll miss you... Again," she said.

Clary laughed a little. She was about to go back to New York, and her leaving had been no easier the second time.

Jocelyn released her, tears in her eyes.

She moved to Valentine, and hugged him. "Goodbye, father."

"Be careful," he said.

She moved to him then. He wrapped his arms around her. "This doesn't get easier," he whispered.

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Write me."

Clary nodded and pulled away, she had tears in her eyes. "Visit sometime."

He nodded.

Clary turned to her friends and Ragnor. "I'm ready," she said.

Ragnor opened the portal.

Alec stepped through, then Clary. Isabelle waved at him before going through.

"Hey Herondale!"

Jace turned.

"Take care of her."

Jace nodded, and stepped through.

* * *

**Let me know what you think of the chapter. You have no idea how unbelievably helpful it is when you tell me. Thanks :)**

**Sneak peeks are at my website. The URL can't be posted in this, so it's in my profile. Enjoy!**

**-Wisterian Princess**


	14. Chapter 14

**Happy Halloween! Extra chapter for you guys :D**

* * *

Clary flipped through the gray book. She'd been looking through it for at least an hour now, trying to match any of the runes to the one she'd drawn in the shower.

She closed the book and sighed. Her elbow bumped her notebook- which she'd taken from Idris and brought back with her to New York- and it fell onto the floor. She set the gray book aside and bent down to pick it up, she frowned at what was underneath- some sort of dark stain in the floor. When had that gotten there?

"Clary?"

Clary jumped and looked up. Jace was standing in the doorway.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Clary nodded, and no longer remembered what she was thinking about.

"You can't sleep, either?"

Clary frowned. "What time is it?"

"Quarter to one."

Clary's eyes widened. "Huh. I'm actually not that tired."

Jace smirked.

There were a few seconds of silence, then Jace walked in and sat next to her on the couch. He glanced at the notebook beside him. "Do you suppose more of these do things as well?" He asked curiously.

Clary's eyed widened. "I'm not willing to test out that theory. Look what happened last time."

Jace flipped open the notebook. "I remember, though I still have no idea what it did," he paused and frowned at one of the pages. "'_It makes you see the ones you love_.' That's an interesting-."

Clary's eyes widened. "It was a theory of Jonathan's," Clary said quickly. "He thought it would make some people see the people they loved," Clary's face was burning.

"'Some people'? Did it not work on you then?" Jace's eyes were on the notebook.

Clary's face was burning as if she had a fever. "I saw you," Clary said quietly, then realized she said it out loud, and her breath stopped in her throat.

"Maybe it _doesn't_ work on some people, then," said Jace- he still hadn't looked up from the book.

Clary's breath came out slowly. She was grateful he wasn't looking at her. She felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. _Of course he wouldn't love you_, Clary thought, _of course he wouldn't..._

Jace turned the page and studied a different rune. He smirked. "Hey, just out of curiosity, why haven't you used a remembrance rune yet?"

Clary looked up. "Why didn't I think of that?" she asked herself quietly.

Jace glanced up at her. "You don't have to, Clary. We still don't know why you can't remember, you could be blocking it out for a reason."

Clary slowly took a deep breath and exhaled beside him. "Can I see your stele?"

Jace's throat tightened. "Are you _sure_ you want to remember, Clary?"

Clary looked at his face for a few seconds, then nodded. "I'm sure."

Jace slowly handed her the stele.

She drew the remembrance rune on her arm. When she finished, she gasped.

She was running through the forest, her heart pounding, her feet numbing, her chest aching. She tripped and fell onto the ground. She chattered. Her dress was torn in tons of places, one of her straps had broken, and she felt as if the air was bathed in ice before touching her skin. Her teeth clicked together, and she coughed.

"Clarissa!" She heard from the distance. Someone was calling her, and she had the feeling that it was a call she shouldn't answer.

Clary hiked up her dirty, bloody torn dress and exposed her thigh strap. She pulled the stele from it's place, and tried to think of a rune to draw.

"Clarissa _Morgenstern_!" The voices were getting louder.

Clary saw a rune in her mind's eye and didn't hesitate. She went up to the closest tree and drew it. Once she'd finished, she didn't know what should happen.

The rune swirled and turned into something. Clary's eyes widened when she saw it turn into a portal. _I thought only warlocks could make portals._

"Clarissa! Come out come out!" The voices sounded close, and Clary forced herself to her feet and stepped through.

Clary bounces off the couch and thumped onto the floor, gasping. She was in the Institute library. She must have considered the Institute her home now instead of Idris.

Blood came from her cuts and made a home on the hardwood floors.

She crawled across the floor to the wall, leaving blood behind. She drew the rune again, and it turned into a portal. She hauled herself up using a bookshelf, and thought of her home in Idris- thought of her mother, her father, her brother, her horse, eating meals in the dining room, riding Hera, swimming, crying in her bed from her nightmares when she was five and her brother's comfort, drawing, training, those stupid white marble floors...

She came out the other side. She was in the training room. She saw a figure on their hands and knees by the doorway. They looked over at her- it was Jace.

"Clary?" in his voice- his perfect voice, one that she'd worried she'd never hear again- there was grief, frustration and disbelief.

Clary's strength disappeared. Her stele fell from her numb fingertips, she fell to the ground, barely feeling the impact.

"Clary!"

Her senses felt useless, the only ones that were working her her hearing and her touch- which was muted due to the cold feeling she felt everywhere.

"Clary!" Jace sounded like he was right next to her. "Clary..." He whispered. "You're alive," Clary could hear the relief, happiness and tears in his voice.

Jace lifted her head onto his lap. He was so warm, and it felt so pleasant.

"Clary," he whispered her name in her ear. "Thank you..."

She was lifted from the ground. She could feel Jace's arm under her legs, around her back, and her head rested against his chest. She could hear his accelerated heartbeat.

"She needs help!" Jace shouted.

"Clary!" Jonathan's footsteps got closer within seconds. She felt fingertips touch her skin, and Jonathan gasped.

"Out of the way," said Ragnor Fell. A hand touched Clary's forehead. "Jocelyn, I'll need warm water, Valentine, I'll need washcloths and Alec, lots of blankets. Go!"

Clary heard several pairs of shoes run from the room.

Clary was lowered onto a soft, squishy surface. She heard the sound of a fire crackling.

"Do you have a stele?" asked Ragnor.

Clary felt the familiar burn of a rune being drawn on her arm. Lots of her pain eased, though she was still as cold as ice.

"We'll start with that," said Ragnor. "Isabella, please get bandages."

She heard the sound of Isabelle's boots leaving the room.

Clary felt someone grab her hand and she clung to the warmth.

"Oh," said Ragnor, his voice confused and surprised.

"What?" asked Jace.

"... Her unwellness is all from mundane problems. You actually don't need me to do anything, she'll be fine."

Jace breathed a sigh of relief. "Clary," he said. "I love you."

* * *

Jace watched Clary draw the rune on herself. When she finished, she gasped, dropping her stele.

"Clary," Jace touched her arm. "Are you alright?"

She looked lost, staring at a fixed point on the floor. She began to shiver- to chatter.

Jace grabbed Clary's arm. "Clary."

Clary winced and started coughing.

Jace shook her a little. "Clary!"

She didn't respond, she was wrapped in her memories. Clary let out a small gasp, then made a sound of pain, and her breathing turned to hyperventilating.

Jace knelt in front of her and grabbed both shoulders. "Clary, wake up!"

Clary's eyes were blank. She swallowed and shut her eyes. Then, she fell forward.

Jace caught her. She looked unconscious. "Clary!" He was holding her in his arms. "_Clary_!"

Clary's eyes fluttered open. She searched her surroundings, then looked up at Jace. "Did I pass out?" she asked quietly. She was blushing intensely.

Jace nodded. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you do that."

Clary shook her head. "It wasn't bad- just very cold..." she shivered.

"What happened?

Clary struggled to sit up. She took a deep breath. "_I_ made the portal."

* * *

_Jonathan,_

_I've been getting better at fighting. I've beaten Alec already- a lot..._

_I really miss you, and can't wait for you to visit. I'm sure once you get passed the chaoticness, you'll love Manhattan._

_Alec and Magnus are an item now. I've gotta say I'm happy for them- although it's weird to see my brother going out all the time._

_I'm not really sure what's going on with Clary and Jace. They're definitely having a back and forth thing going on, but they aren't acting on it, I think. It's kind of sad seeing them knowing each other for months and doing nothing while it took you and I one day._

_Hope to see you soon!_

_Izzy_

Jonathan smiled while reading Isabelle's letter. She was somewhat new to writing letters, but she was catching on.

He put the letter back in its envelope and slid it into the box of letters he kept on his dark wood desk.

He went to the stable and tacked up Artemis. Before he put in the bit, he fed her an apple, and she nosed him gratefully.

The warm summer breeze felt pleasant as it blew through his silver hair. The sun was shining bright and warm, and he could feel it slowly tanning his skin.

Jonathan thought of Clary. This specific weather was the weather that wouldn't disappoint every year on Clary's birthday- which was coming up. Clary was turning sixteen this year, and he already had a gift bought for her: a new stele.

A black shadow passed in front of Artemis and disappeared. Artemis whinnied and threw her front legs into the air. Jonathan tried to calm her, but she took off into the forest. Another figure jumped from behind a tree, and she threw her hind legs into the air. Jonathan flew over her head and hit a tree. He blacked out.

* * *

Clary finished telling Jace what she'd remembered- leaving out the everything after she supposedly fainted. His eyes were wide.

"That isn't possible," said Jace. "There aren't runes to open portals."

"I... I don't know," said Clary. "It actually explains everything."

"Here, let's test it," said Jace. "Which rune was it?"

Clary opened the notebook to the page with the rune.

Jace picked up his stele and took it to the wall. He drew the rune.

It swirled- like it had in Clary's memories- and became a portal.

The stele and notebook fell from Jace's hands.

Clary came up beside him. "Should we tell anyone about this?" She asked quietly.

"No. Don't tell anyone- not Isabelle or Alec, not your parents and not your brother," Jace said. He stared at the portal in amazement.

Clary nodded.

Clary lie awake in bed that night.

The memories had been terribly uncomfortable to relive, though they weren't traumatizing- like Jace had thought they might be.

Her mind kept wandering back to what she'd heard when she was remembering that night. _Clary, I love you_. Had she been dreaming at that point? She must have been- though it seemed so real. There was a certain way dreams were- they seemed real while they were occurring, but when you were actually awake, you knew it was a dream.

She remembered everything in such great detail- like it happened in slow motion, and she had time to absorb everything. She thought of the way she'd heard Jace say her name, the way he'd held her, his racing heart...

Clary was blushing even now, alone in her bedroom. Jonathan had said Jace liked Clary, but Clary still wasn't that sure. Jonathan had asked her if he'd given these small signs, and he had. But those could just be things that Jace does, Clary thought.

She slipped into sleep then.

She was dreaming, she could tell. Everything felt false- like looking at a picture that had been photo shopped.

Clary was in a field of yellow flowers that went on as far as she could see. Shy sky was bright, blue and clear.

"Clary," she heard a whisper from behind her. She turned around, and there was Jace. He looked especially beautiful in the golden sunlight.

"Clary..." his voice was identical to the way it had been in her remembrance of her other dream. "Clary, I love you. Wake up. Wake up! Clary. Wake. Up."

Clary's eyes opened into the real world. She was looking up to Jace's face. She yanked the blankets over her head to hide her blush.

"Clary, it's ten thirty, everyone's in the training room waiting for you."

"I'll be down in a few minutes," her face was still very flushed from her dream.

"... Will you _really_, or will you just go back to sleep?"

"If I go back to sleep, you can dump a bucket of cold water over my head."

She heard Jace chuckle. "I'll hold you to that," his footsteps went to her door, and it clicked shut behind him.

Clary went to shower and changed into yoga pants and a tank top.

She speed ate an apple before going to the training room. Alec and Isabelle were dueling in the middle of the room. Jace was nowhere in sight.

"Is that you, Clary?" Asked Isabelle, not turning from her training battle.

"Yeah," said Clary. "You've both gotten better."

"Thanks," said Alec. He was fully concentrated on his fight- unlike Isabelle, who engaged in conversation with Clary.

"Are you soaked? Jace said he was going to dump cold water over your head," Isabelle snickered.

"No, he didn't get the chance. I actually got up," Clary's hair was dry from her helpful blow drier.

"Indeed you did," Jace walked up next to Clary. "I went to your room to do as you instructed, but you weren't in there," he smirked.

"For the record," said Clary. "I didn't _tell_ you to, I said you could. There's a difference."

Jace chuckled.

Alec grunted as Isabelle disarmed him and dragged her leather covered blade across his chest.

"Ha! I win!" Isabelle bragged.

"_Our_ turn," said Jace, walking in and taking the swords.

Clary came in next to him and took one of the blades.

Isabelle and Alec walked to the far side of the room to give them space.

"Ready when you are," said Jace, tauntingly.

Clary lunged.

* * *

Jonathan woke up to Artemis nosing him. He was lying on the forest floor. The day's light was mostly gone, leaving him in almost complete darkness.

He stood up and felt as his sore head. He mounted his horse and guided her home.

Artemis was now happily munching on an apple in her stall, untacked.

Jonathan walked into the house and jumped when his father was standing right inside the door, about to exit.

"Jonathan! Thank the angel!" Said Valentine.

Jonathan shut the door on the darkness behind him, confused. "What's going on?"

Jocelyn was standing in the middle of the room. "We were worried sick, Jonathan!"

"... Why?"

"There was a demon on our land," said Valentine. "It said so on the tracker. When you weren't home within an hour..."

"Is _that_ what that was? Artemis was spooked by something in the forest."

Jocelyn ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"I was about to look for you," said Valentine. "Why did you take so long to get home? Did you fight it?"

Jonathan shook his head and pulled away from Jocelyn. "Just... Calming Artemis. I didn't actually see the demon, I didn't know it was there."

"Well," said Valentine. "I'm going to hunt it down. Who's going to join me?"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**I'm actually gonna put the sneak peek here this time ;) ENJOY!**

**Chapter 15**

**Jonathan, Valentine and Jocelyn had ridden out to the forest, seraph blades in hand. They left their horses at the forest's edge, so they wouldn't get spooked again.**

**"Tzaphqiel," Jonathan murmured. His seraph blade glowed to life, and he quietly padded across the still ground.**

**"The trackers says the demon's very close," said Valentine in a hushed voice.**

**Jonathan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He glanced at his exposed arms- covered in runes.**

**They heard a low growl, and they all spun to where the sound had come from.**

**A black demon with dozens of eyes and four arms pounced from behind, landing on Jocelyn's back. She cried out. and Jonathan body slammed it, knocking it off of her. It bit him, and he stabbed it. Black ichor stained his white shirt, and the demon coiled away.**

**When Jonathan got up, both his parents were engaged in separate battles, and another was sneaking up on them. Jonathan charged the demon and plunged the seraph blade into its back. It screeched, but was gone in seconds.**

**Valentine and Jocelyn finished theirs off, too.**

**"I think we got them all," said Valentine, looking at his tracker.**

**They all went back to their horses and rode back.**

**When Jonathan was guiding Artemis back into the stable, he felt like he was going to be sick. He had sweat covering his forehead, and he remembered the bite. "What kind of demon did you say it was?" His vision was starting to blur, but he fought against it- hard.**

**"I didn't," said Valentine. "An umbra demon- nasty little things. They're like feral dogs. Their poison can cause severe nausea and death if not treated right away," Valentine was untacking Athena, not looking at Jonathan.**

******"I wish you would have told me that sooner-" Jonathan fe**lt a surge in his stomach- he felt as if he were going to retch, but didn't. He bent over and clutched his stomach "Oh god," Jonathan fell to the ground. The last thing he heard was Jocelyn's frantic voice call his name.


	15. Chapter 15

**I know I've left you all in suspense :p I hope I don't disappoint**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Jonathan, Valentine and Jocelyn had ridden out to the forest, seraph blades in hand. They left their horses at the forest's edge, so they wouldn't get spooked again.

"Tzaphqiel," Jonathan murmured. His seraph blade glowed to life, and he quietly padded across the still ground.

"The tracker says the demons are very close," said Valentine in a hushed voice.

Jonathan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He glanced at his exposed arms- covered in runes.

They heard a low growl, and they all spun to where the sound had come from.

A black demon with dozens of eyes and four arms pounced from behind, landing on Jocelyn's back. She cried out. and Jonathan body slammed it, knocking it off of her. It bit him, and he stabbed it. Black ichor stained his white shirt, and the demon coiled away.

When Jonathan got up, both his parents were engaged in separate battles, and another was sneaking up on them. Jonathan charged the demon and plunged the seraph blade into its back. It screeched, but was gone in seconds.

Valentine and Jocelyn finished theirs off, too.

"I think we got them all," said Valentine, looking at his tracker.

They all went back to their horses and rode back.

When Jonathan was guiding Artemis back into the stable, he felt like he was going to be sick. He had sweat covering his forehead, and he remembered the bite. "What kind of demon did you say it was?" His vision was starting to blur, but he fought against it- hard.

"I didn't," said Valentine. "An umbra demon- nasty little things. They're like feral dogs. Their poison can cause severe nausea and death if not treated right away," Valentine was untacking Athena, not looking at Jonathan.

"I wish you would have told me that sooner-" Jonathan felt a surge in his stomach- he felt as if he were going to retch, but didn't. He bent over and clutched his stomach "Oh god," Jonathan fell to the ground. The last thing he heard was Jocelyn's frantic voice call his name.

* * *

Clary was in her bedroom, sketching Jace- the way he looked while she trained with him. Her pencil tip shaded his fitted t-shirt lightly, shading darker around his muscle outlines.

There was a knock on her door and Clary looked up just as it opened. Clary closed her notebook and smiled. "Hey."

Jace smiled back at her. "Hey. I wanted to show you something... Do you have a minute?"

Clary set down her sketchpad and stood up. "Sure."

Jace lead her to a place Clary had never been before.

"Where are we?" She asked.

Jace looked over at her. "We're in the greenhouse."

Clary looked around at the plants and rainbow of flowers everywhere. "Wow..." She marveled. It was beautiful.

Jace sat down on the ground. "Now we wait."

Clary sat beside him. "Wait for what?"

Jace gave her a knowing smile. "You'll see."

Clary could feel her heart beat faster.

"I got you something," he said after a minute of silence- but surprisingly not the awkward kind.

Clary frowned. "You did?"

Jace smirked. He reached into his left hand pocket and pulled something out. He turned back to Clary and showed it to her.

Clary's eyes widened. "Wow..." She whispered.

Jace held a necklace with a thin silver chain. The small jewel that hung from it was a beautiful shade of blue, and it caught the light perfectly.

"You like it?" Asked Jace.

"Is... It for me?"

"Of course."

Clary looked dazed staring at it. "It's so pretty..."

"Here, I'll put it on you."

Clary turned around and moved her hair out of the way.

Jace gently put it around her neck and fastened it, letting his fingers linger on her neck for a few extra seconds. Clary shivered.

She turned back around and felt at the gem. It rested in the cradle of her neck. "Thank you."

Jace grinned. "Don't mention it."

Clary heard something that sounded like tolling bells and Jace stood up, pulling Clary up with him. He turned her to face the plants. "Look," he whispered in her ear.

Clary stared for a moment. "What am I looking at?"

Jace chuckled lightly in her ear. "Just look."

Just then, all of the rainbows of flowers. They all opened at once, creating a great scene of beauty.

"Wow..." she murmured.

"You say that a lot," Jace observed.

Clary smiled at the scene.

"Happy birthday, Clarissa."

Clary whipped around. "How did you know?" Clary was pretty surprised. She hadn't told anyone, or even given them hints.

"Your family tree," Jace seemed amused by Clary's reaction. "It said your birthday on it."

"Oh..."

Jace stepped a step closer to her.

Her heart started pounding, and she could feel herself blush. She had to incline her head to look at his face now, he was so close.

Jace was looking into her eyes now with his own gold ones. He leaned down slowly.

Clary stopped breathing.

He stopped about an inch from her face.

Clary was took a slow breath, breathing in his scent.

His lips came down on hers then with great urgency. His hands went to her waist.

She kissed him back, putting her hands into his gold hair.

He pulled her closer and kissed her harder.

Clary's heart was pounded like a drum in her chest- she worried he'd hear it.

Jace wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her against him and Clary wrapped her arms around his neck. Their kiss deepened.

Jace pulled away. "Don't be alarmed, but we have company," Jace murmured, he was still so close.

Clary turned her head to the side and saw a cat- a square faced gray persian with yellow eyes, staring at them.

"I assume you've met Church?" Said Jace.

Clary had seen this cat around the institute, but never known his name. "Once or twice."

Jace hold on her loosened, and Clary looked back at him. "We should probably go."

Clary sighed quietly, but nodded. "Thanks... For the necklace," Clary blushed.

Jace walked Clary back to her room. They stopped in front of the door and looked at each other.

"Are you tired?" Asked Clary.

"Just a little."

Clary smiled. "Thank you. I had fun."

Jace smiled. He came down to her and kissed her again- this time gently.

"Sorry..."

Jace and Clary looked over to see Maryse Lightwood, staring at them.

"Maryse," said Jace. "You're back."

"Yes, I just got back," Maryse was still staring, wide eyed.

Clary quietly cleared her throat and blushed.

"That's good," said Jace. "How was Clave business?"

Maryse nodded. "Good, good," Her gaze passed between the two. "... I'm going to retire now. Good night," and with that, she left the hallway.

Clary turned back to Jace- who was already looking at her. "Happy birthday," he kissed her lightly again before leaving.

* * *

"Jocelyn. Jocelyn, wake up."

Jocelyn awoke to Valentine shaking her shoulder.

"It's my turn," he said softly. "You go shower and change."

"Thank you," she said. She rose from her chair- which was next to Jonathan's bed.

She took a quick shower and changed into yoga pants and a t-shirt.

Jonathan had been unconscious for about four days now, and Jocelyn had never left him unattended. She was beginning to worry- although Ragnor Fell repeatedly told her that he was a genius, and Jonathan would be fine.

Jocelyn sighed. She walked back into Jonathan's bedroom. Valentine had fallen asleep in the same chair she had. She smiled. Valentine looked younger when he was sleeping, and sort of innocent. Jocelyn sat on the end of Jonathan's bed. She laid her hand over his, and watched his face.

Jonathan had looked very similar to Valentine, Jocelyn thought, though Jonathan had her eyes and hands. She turned her gaze to Valentine. He was breathing slowly.

"Jocelyn!" Valentine called.

A teenaged Jocelyn turned around and saw Valentine. Her heart lept. "Valentine, hi!"

He stopped in front of her. "Jocelyn, we're going down to the lake later, would you like to come?"

She nodded eagerly. "Sure."

Valentine walked back to Stephen Herondale and they resumed their conversation.

Jocelyn gazed at him.

"Jocelyn... Jocelyn... _Jocelyn_!"

She jumped and turned. "Oh, Lucian, hi," she hadn't noticed he was there.

Lucian Graymark was Jocelyn's best friend since she could remember.

"What are you staring at?" he asked.

Jocelyn turned her gaze back to Valentine and jerked her head toward him.

"Ah. Valentine Morgenstern."

Jocelyn nodded. "Why doesn't he notice me?" She sighed. She rested her head on Lucian's shoulder and she felt him tense. "Sorry," she took her head off his shoulder. "Are you coming to the lake?"

"Yeah."

"Who else is going?"

"Charles, Michael, Emil, Hodge, Jeremy, Jia, Malachi, Patrick, Maryse, Robert, Samuel, you, me and Valentine."

Jocelyn sighed. "I guess being invited doesn't mean much then."

Maryse screeched as Jia splashed her.

Jia ran off laughing.

Maryse took off after her in her high heel boots. "Get back here, Jia!"

Jeremy and Emil chuckled at them.

Jocelyn was leaning against a tree, hood up. Lucian was standing next to her. Lucian was Jocelyn's only friend, she was kind of shy, and she didn't know how to befriend anyone else, really.

She watched Valentine get into a shoving match with Michael, then they tackled each other and laughed. They eventually tumbled into the lake and shot apart.

"By the angel, that's _cold_!" Exclaimed Michael, running out of the water.

Valentine stood up, laughing at him. His white shirt was soaked and clinging to his skin.

Jocelyn was staring. She was pretty sure Lucian was talking to her, but she didn't hear what he was saying.

Valentine's laughing dissipated and he looked at Jocelyn. "Care to join me, Jocelyn? The water's fine!"

"Don't do it!" Called Michael. "That water's Satan's icebox!"

Some of the other boys chuckled and Jocelyn blushed. "No thank you," she would be too embarrassed.

Jia rushed back into the clearing and paused, looking at everyone. "What'd I miss?"

Just then, Maryse jetted out of the trees and ran smack into Jia. They both fell into the lake.

"Raziel! That's cold!" Jia screamed, stumbling out.

Maryse followed. "By the angel."

The boys were laughing.

Maryse's white school blouse was completely see through. She crossed her arms over her chest and shivered.

Robert slid off his school jacket, walked up to her and placed it over her shoulders. She looked at him for a lingering moment. "Thanks."

Jia was pulling on her own school jacket, looking slightly annoyed that Maryse had an admirer and she did not.

"Sorry I'm late," said a girl who came into the clearing.

"Ah, finally you decide to join us, Celine," said Valentine, walking out of the water.

Everybody stared. Celine was _gorgeous_. She had long gold hair and she looked almost angelic. But she looked slightly younger than everyone else, and her uniform was different.

"This is Celine, she goes to the other school- that I forgot the name of-" a few of them laughed. "She's a freshman, too, so be cool."

Celine rolled her eyes, giggling.

Jocelyn tensed. She wasn't sure if she was flirting or not.

Valentine introduced Celine to everyone.

Celine was looking at Stephen, Jocelyn noticed, and she felt slightly relieved.

"Well, I don't know about you boys, but I'm going swimming," Celine chirped, and walked around the boys toward the water.

"I wouldn't do that," said Michael.

Celine paused and turned.

"It's _ice_ cold," he smirked.

Celine shrugged. "I don't mind. Who's going to join me?"

There was a second of hesitation, then Stephen said- "I'll go," he stepped out from the crowd of boys and took off his jacket.

Celine took off her jacket, too, though her shirt was blue instead of white.

Stephen jerked his head to the side and tried to psych himself up. He ran right into the water and dove in. He jumped out and let out a whoop.

Some of the other guys started to laugh, and abruptly stopped when Celine slid off her stockings. She dove in the same way Stephen had and came up after a few seconds. "You were right," she called to Michael. "It _is_ a little cold."

The sun was setting now, and everyone was making their way back through the forest.

Valentine came up to Jocelyn and took her shoulder. "May I talk with you in private for a moment?"

Jocelyn was taken aback at first. "Uh, alright..."

Lucian looked at her.

She nodded as if to say 'it's fine'.

Lucian walked with the others. Once they were out of sight, Valentine turned to Jocelyn.

"Jocelyn... Are you seeing Lucian?"

Jocelyn's eyes widened, surprised. "What? No. Why?"

"... Are you seeing _anyone_?"

Jocelyn blushed. "... No..."

Valentine nodded. "Alright. Good."

Before Jocelyn could question him, he kissed her.

"Mom?" Jonathan's voice broke Jocelyn out of her flashback.

"Jonathan! You're alright!" She bent down and wrapped her arms around him.

He groaned. "Mom, you're crushing me..."

She sat up, grinning like a mad woman. "Sorry."

Jonathan sat up slowly. "... How long have I been out?"

"Four days," said Valentine, waking up. "Good to see you back, Jonathan."

Jonathan's widened. "_Four days_?"

Jocelyn nodded. "Ragnor's been in and out-"

Jonathan jumped out of bed and to his desk. He began digging through his desk drawer.

"Jonathan, honey, what's wrong?" asked Jocelyn.

"Four days, right? Today was Clary's birthday."

* * *

Clary was sketching the flowers of the greenhouse at midnight, when they'd all opened.

Clary had asked Jace not to tell the others that is was her birthday, so he didn't. They'd trained, Maryse made delicious meals and they'd gone demon hunting.

Clary smiled at her finished work. This had been the best birthday ever.

The sound of firelmail arriving made Clary jump. She opened it.

_Happy birthday Clarissa!_

_Love Jonathan_

* * *

**Did you like it? Told you it was coming ;)**

**I'd like you to do me a favor. Could you please go to my website, look in 'list of fan fictions', and tell me which of the _coming soon _things you'd like to read? That would be awesome! Thanks! :) (my website is in my profile)**

**And now, a sneak peek into chapter 16...**

**Chapter 16**

**"Jace!" Clary ran to Jace's side and dropped down beside him. "What happened?" she demanded.**

**"Ordi demon," said Isabelle. "It got him pretty bad."**

**Jace was laying on the ground, a thin layer of sweat covering his face- making his hair stick- and his eyes were closed, though his head was turning about, and he was breathing raggedly.**

**"Alec, call Magnus!" said Isabelle.**

**Alec- who was crouched at Jace's side- pulled out his phone.**

**"There's no time!" Clary shouted. "If he's been poisoned by an ordi demon... Tell Magnus to go straight to the institute!"**

**"Clary, we've got to get there-"**

**"I know!" Clary ran to the wall, pulled out the new stele from her boot, and drew the portal rune. She ran back to Jace. "Help me carry him!"**

**"Clary-" Isabelle was looking at the rune now, it swirled and glowed, and a portal appeared in it's place. "How the hell-"**

**"Doesn't matter, now help me carry him!" Clary went to Jace feet and Isabelle and Alec each slung one of his arms around their shoulders.**

**They walked through the portal. They were in the Institute's healing room now. They set Jace down on one of the beds.**

**"Alec, have you contacted Magnus?" Asked Isabelle.**

**"Yeah, he's on his way," said Alec.**

**Clary was at Jace's side, gripping his hand.**

**Jace's breathing was fast and ragged, and his thin sheet of sweat had turned into a blanket, sticking his shirt to him.**

**"Jace..." Clary's voice was shaking. "Jace, hold on."**


	16. Chapter 16

**Here we are, chapter 16. Hope you like it!**

**greygirl2358: Clary _is _normal. So yes, a good question is, where are the dreams coming from? It's a mystery for now...**

* * *

"Jace!" Clary ran to Jace's side and dropped down beside him. "What happened?" she demanded.

"Ordi demon," said Isabelle. "It got him pretty bad."

Jace was laying on the ground, a thin layer of sweat covering his face- making his hair stick- and his eyes were closed, though his head was turning about, and he was breathing raggedly.

"Alec, call Magnus!" said Isabelle.

Alec- who was crouched at Jace's side- pulled out his phone.

"There's no time!" Clary shouted. "If he's been poisoned by an Ordi demon... Tell Magnus to go straight to the institute!"

"Clary, we've got to get there-"

"I know!" Clary ran to the wall, pulled out the new stele from her boot, and drew the portal rune. She ran back to Jace. "Help me carry him!"

"Clary-" Isabelle was looking at the rune now, it swirled and glowed, and a portal appeared in it's place. "How the hell-"

"Doesn't matter, now help me carry him!" Clary went to Jace feet and Isabelle and Alec each slung one of his arms around their shoulders.

They walked through the portal. They were in the Institute's healing room now. They set Jace down on one of the beds.

"Alec, have you contacted Magnus?" Asked Isabelle.

"Yeah, he's on his way," said Alec.

Clary was at Jace's side, gripping his hand.

Jace's breathing was fast and ragged, and his thin sheet of sweat had turned into a blanket, sticking his shirt to him.

"Jace..." Clary's voice was shaking. "Jace, hold on."

**3 days earlier...**

"Clary, are you going to Magnus' tonight?" Asked Isabelle.

Clary shrugged. "I don't know, I'm not very good at parties..."

"Oh, come on," said Jace. "It'll be fun- so long as you don't drink the faerie drinks."

Isabelle and Alec burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Asked Clary.

"Nothing," Jace said quickly.

"Jace," Isabelle couldn't finish her sentence she was laughing so hard. "Jace has a," she dropped her seraph blade and doubled over

"He has a bad experience with faerie food," Alec managed.

Clary looked curiously over at him. "Did you?" Clary was trying not to giggle- she knew what faerie food did to humans.

"It was nothing," said Jace.

Isabelle fell over laughing.

"What happened?" Asked Clary.

"_Nothing_," said Jace.

"... Plum... Street... Antlers..._Mundanes_..." Isabelle managed these words between peels of laughter.

"And he was naked," laughed Alec.

Clary burst out laughing.

"Not you, _too_," he let out an exasperated breath- which made Clary laugh harder.

Clary had given in to Isabelle's persuasion and said she'd go to the party. The minute she agreed, Isabelle had gone out and bought her something to where.

Clary was in her room, staring at the shortest dress she'd ever seen.

Clary sucked in a breath, then released it. She stripped off her tank top and sweats, and pulled the dress on over her head. It fit surprisingly well. She looked at her reflection The dress was low cut on the neck, tight, short, black, and the sides had lace, so she could see the skin just above her waist. She tugged at the end, trying to make it longer.

She pulled on her knee high lace up boots- no high heels- and restudied herself in the mirror. She hid her stele and dagger in each boot. Then, finally, she put on the necklace Jace had given her as a birthday present.

She walked to the door and jumped when Isabelle opened it before she could.

Isabelle looked Clary up and down. "You look _hot_. All you need now is makeup!" Isabelle did a mask of makeup on Clary's face.

"And now, you're perfect," said Isabelle. "I think Jace will like it."

Clary's face turned red with embarrassment. "I..."

"Don't think I don't _know_," Isabelle teased. "The way you two look at each other, it's kind of obvious."

Clary's blush darkened.

"Come on."

Isabelle and Clary went to the front room.

Jace and Alec looked up when they walked in. Alec seemed barely affected- as if seeing someone in a uniform- but Jace stared at Clary.

"You look beautiful," he said.

Clary blushed. "Thanks."

They took the train to Magnus'- where a group of college boys called out to Isabelle and Clary, and Alec shouted at them.

They got to Magnus', and it was full of people, glitter, and trays of multi-colored drinks.

"Alexander!" Magnus came to his boyfriend and kissed him with passion. Clary tried not to stare.

"I'm going this way," said Isabelle, leaving.

"Want to dance?" Jace asked Clary.

Clary nodded.

Jace took Clary's hand and pulled her to the other side of the room, where they started dancing among the crowd of faeries, vampires, werewolves and warlocks- though none of them seemed bothered that there were nephilim there, too.

They were dancing in close proximity- the heat radiated from their bodies warming each other. Jace put his hands on Clary's hips and pulled her closer.

They danced for what felt like forever- Clary and Jace's bodies were covered in sweat, and their hair stuck to their necks and faces.

Clary felt breathless.

"Do you want a drink?" Asked Jace over the loud music.

"As long as it wasn't made by faeries!"

They sat on one of the empty couches- the others were occupied by couples, on the couch closest to them, there was a girl with dark skin and wavy black hair making out with a boy with messy hair.

Jace handed Clary a drink, and she thanked him.

"Having fun?" He asked.

Clary nodded. "I didn't know parties could be this fun."

"Than this is obviously the first time you've been to one of _my_ parties," said Magnus- who'd just come up and plopped down on a couch, and Alec joined him.

"I think this is my first party," Clary admitted.

"Than you're extremely fortunate," Magnus grinned.

Jace rolled his eyes. "Alright, that's enough. Come on, Clary," Jace stood and took Clary's hand.

Clary noticed, as they were walking away, the girl who was making out with a boy on the couch near them was looking at her.

"You want some air?" Asked Jace.

Clary nodded. "Thanks."

They went outside the apartment and breathed the vaguely warm Brooklyn evening air. There were a few more people out getting air, too.

Clary sat on the cement railing that lined the walkway.

Jace sat next to her. "What do you want do now?" He asked. "Socialize with the faeries?"

Clary giggled. "No thanks, I don't personally find faeries to be good company."

Jace smirked. His hand went to Clary's neck, and she held her breath. He touched the blue gemstone of her necklace. "You wore your present," he said.

Clary blushed. "I like it."

Jace smiled. "I thought you might."

Clary heard a pair of feet come down the steps. They stopped close to them and started talking to someone- Clary saw out of the corner of her eye.

"She's here," said one of the voices.

Clary was distracted from her eavesdropping when Jace out his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.

He leaned down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened into it.

There was a sudden yowl from behind them.

Clary jumped and spun around. It was Magnus' cat, Chairman Meow. Clary started laughing, and so did Jace.

"Clary?"

Clary turned to see the girl who'd been looking at her from the couch. She looked awfully familiar... "Maia!" Clary remembered.

Maia smiled at her. "I thought you were inside. I saw you there earlier."

"Just getting some air," Clary glanced at Jace. "This is Jace," Clary said to Maia. "Jace, this is Maia."

"Hello," said Jace. He was staring at her curiously, though Clary wasn't sure why.

Maia nodded at him. "Well, I should get back inside. Simon and Jordan are waiting for

me."

Clary nodded. "Tell them I said hi."

Maia nodded and headed back up the steps.

Jace raised his eyebrow at her. "Simon from _Pandemonium_?"

Clary nodded. "That's his friend, Maia, and Jordan's Maia's boyfriend.

Jace nodded and looked off somewhere. "I suppose I should be grateful to him," he said finally.

Clary frowned. "What do you mean? For what?"

"He was the one who told us you'd left with Emil Pangborn when you went missing."

Clary's eye widened. "He did?"

Jace shrugged.

* * *

**The night of the Poisoning...**

"You think she'll be surprised?" Asked Jocelyn.

"Yes," said Jonathan. "I hope in a good way."

Jonathan was standing outside his house with his mother, father and Ragnor. They'd arranged Jonathan's trip to New York in secret, so everyone would be surprised when he got there.

"Of course it'll be in a good way," said Jocelyn. "She's, missed you so much."

"Jonathan, it's time," said Valentine.

Jocelyn was teary again.

"I'm only visiting New York, mother, not moving. No need to cry."

Jocelyn laughed, then hugged him.

Ragnor opened the portal as Jonathan moved to Valentine.

"Don't forget your training," said Valentine.

Jonathan took a deep breath, and walked through the portal.

* * *

**After the Poisoning...**

_Dear Jonathan,_

_I'm scared... Jace has been poisoned by an ordi demon, and I don't know if he's gonna make it._

_Jonathan, I'm in love with Jace, and I've decided to tell him._

_Clary_

* * *

**Two days before the poisoning...**

Clary woke up in her bed. She didn't remember coming here on her own. She sat up and realized she was still in her party clothes, makeup and all.

She showered, washing the sweat and makeup from her face and body.

She put on training clothes and went to the dining room, and Jace and Isabelle were there.

Jace's eyes widened as he saw her. "You've woken up on your own I see. Good morning, by the way."

"Good morning," Clary sat next to Jace, and picked an apple out of the fruit bowl.

The corner of Jace's mouth quirked.

"Hey, what happened last night?"

Isabelle looked at her. "You don't remember?"

"Well... I remember the train, I think, but nothing after that."

Jace smirked. "You fell asleep. I had to carry you the rest of the way back."

Clary blushed, and took a bite of her apple. Clary frowned as she looked around the table. "Hey, where's Alec?"

Isabelle smirked. "He stayed at Magnus'."

Clary's eyes widened. "_Oh_."

Maryse came in and set a plate of french toast on the table. "Good morning, Clary. How'd you sleep?"

"Well."

Maryse nodded. "Good. Well, I've got to get back to work," then she left the room again.

Jace and Isabelle served themselves some more french toast.

"Are we training today?" Asked Clary.

Jace nodded. "If you're up for it."

Clary nodded.

**After the Poisoning...**

Clary had just sent the letter to her brother. She was sitting in a chair next to Jace, looking at his with fearful eyes. _He may not make it_, Clary thought, _Jace may die_. Clary felt tears prick in her eyes. She took his hand and pressed it against her cheek. His skin was fever hot.

Magnus was at work with Jace, though he looked no better than when he'd first been poisoned.

Alec was standing at the foot of Jace's bed, watching him.

Isabelle was pacing, trying not to cry.

Jace's fingers were twitching- like his head- and Clary squeezed her eyes shut, and one tear fell down her face.

Clary put her forehead onto his forearm. "Jace..." She whispered.

**The day of the Poisoning...**

Clary put her new seraph blade from her father into her belt. She put a knife into her boot, and her stele in the other. She hid several more blades on her before she realized Jace was watching her.

She smiled playfully at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he smiled. "Ready?"

Clary nodded.

Alec and Isabelle were waiting for them by the front doors of the Institute.

"Finally," said Isabelle. "I was this close to telling you we'd meet you there."

They took the train out to the abandoned hotel that the demons were lurking at.

They looked at the front. It was slightly older looking- maybe it was regal and in business in the nineteen fifties.

They went in.

Jace was holding his tracker, and Alec was holding a witchlight.

"We're getting close," said Jace.

"I know," said Isabelle- hand at her pendant.

Something that looked like a crossover between a gargoyle and a large dog leapt out at them. They all jumped back, and it hit the wall.

Clary was on it. She leapt onto it's back, yelled- "Ariel!" it lit up, and she stuck it deep into it's back. It screamed, and took off, running down the hall, Clary still on it's back.

As it ran, they passed several more demon in the hall. Clary reached into her left boot and pulled out the dagger. She drove it into the side of its neck, and it threw it's side into the wall. Clary cried out in pain at her right leg. She yanked the dagger from its neck and the sword from its back, and she slid to the ground.

She fell onto her back, and the demon creature came at her. She held her sword tip up, and the creature walked right into it. It coiled up and disappeared.

Clary pulled her stele from her boot and drew an _iratze_ on her arm. The pain in her leg eased, and the gathered up her weapons, and headed back the way the demon had come from.

**The day before the Poisoning...**

Clary sat in the greenhouse, sketching the plants. The sharp pencil tip traced what her eyes saw in the flower- the shadows under the delicate petals, the jagged edges of the leaves, the little puffs of pollen in the center...

Clary closed her sketchbook and opened her notebook. She opened to a random rune, it wasn't written on, just the rune was drawn. She stared at it for a moment, considering, but decided against it.

She took out a piece of paper to write to her brother.

_Dear Jonathan,_

_There's something about New York that I can't help but love- though I'm not quite sure what it is. I'll write you when I figure out._

_How are things at home? Any more poisonings from loose demons? Speaking of which, I thought it about it this afternoon, and... Well, wasn't that your first demon?_

_Things with Jace have been going rather well in my opinion. Of course, I'll tell you that, but considering you're my brother, I don't want to give you details._

_With love,_

_Clarissa Adele Morgenstern_

**The day of the Poisoning...**

"I can't do anything else," said Magnus.

"What do you mean?" said Alec.

"I mean, I've done all I can. He can either heal the rest of the way on his own, or not. Living is truly up to him now."

Isabelle swallowed.

Magnus left. After a few minutes of complete silence- except for Jace's ragged breath- Isabelle told Alec that they should go. He protested, but Isabelle eventually got him out.

Clary was now alone with Jace. "You can't do this to me," Clary said. "You can't die. I want you to live- for me- because I love you."

He was still sweating as if he were in an oven.

Clary was still gripping his hand. "Jace... Please..." She took a shaky breath, fighting back the tears. "Jace, I remembered something I didn't tell you when I used the remembrance rune. At first I thought it was a dream, but now we've switched places, and I know how you felt.

"In this dream, you brought me to the main room, and laid me down on the couch. And... And you told me you loved me," Clary felt tears spilling down her face. "Jace... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't have been with you when it happened, I'm sorry for not telling you how I felt sooner, and I'm sorry- most of all- for me. I don't deserve you," Clary touched her forehead to his chest, and her hair spilled around her. She began choking out sobs, squeezing his hand for dear life.

She heard something- a falter in his breathing pattern- and looked at his face. His lips were parted, moving slightly.

"Jace?" Clary whispered.

His lips moved slightly again.

"What?" Clary moved her ear right up to his mouth.

"... Don't say that," he murmured faintly.

Clary looked at his face. His eyes were still closed, and he was still sweaty, but he was conscious. Clary smiled, and let out a small laugh of disbelief. "Don't say what?" She moved her ear to his lips again to hear him.

"That you don't deserve me," it took him a few seconds to get the next words out. "If anything... I don't deserve you..."

Clary shook her head, her ear still near his mouth. "No," she said.

"Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"Did you mean it when you said... That you loved me."

Clary tensed. She couldn't bring herself to say anything, so she just nodded, letting her hair tickle his face.

He laughed a very small, weak laugh, but a laugh. "That tickles."

Clary pulled her hair out of the way. "Sorry."

His lips were slightly pulled up in the corners.

Clary couldn't help but smile.

Jace coughed, and Clary's smile vanished. "Don't talk," she said. "You need to rest."

"If you say so..."

Clary lightly kissed his lips before sitting back into her chair, still holding his hand.

* * *

Jonathan came through the portal and his eyes widened when he saw a woman waiting for him. She looked just like an older Isabelle, but with blue eyes.

Her face was creased with worry, but she still smiled at him. "You must be Jonathan. You look so much like your father."

Jonathan smiled. "Thank you. You must be Maryse. The family resemblance is uncanny."

Maryse smiled. "You're very kind. Come with me."

He looked up at the front of the Institute. It was just like Clary had described and sketched it. He followed Maryse thought the front doors and into the elevator.

"I apologize," she said. She was looking straight ahead, and her face was full of worry. "But you may have actually come at a bit of a bad time."

He frowned, not knowing what she meant. "I don't understand..."

She looked at him. "I don't mean that you're not welcome- because you are- but someone has been injured, and everyone is very worried."

Jonathan's breath caught in his throat. "Who is it?" He asked quietly.

Maryse turned her gaze back forwards. "Jason Herondale."

At first, Jonathan was relieved that it wasn't Clary or Isabelle, but then he thought of Clary. "... How badly injured?"

Maryse swallowed. That wasn't a good thing, he thought.

The elevator doors opened, and Jonathan looked at the decor.

Maryse walked down the hall and opened a room door. "This is where you will be staying," she had plastered a smile onto her face. "You can drop your bags here and see your sister if you wish."

He nodded. "Thank you," he set his bags inside. He heard a bit of a swish, and thought the window must be open.

Maryse lead him down to the infirmary.

Jonathan saw Isabelle and Alec waiting outside long before they saw him.

Alec looked up and his eyes widened. "Oh. Hello."

Isabelle didn't even look up. She was staring at the toe of her boot.

"Hello," said Jonathan.

Isabelle looked up then, and her eyes widened. "Jonathan..." Her eyes looked glassy, and if she had tears in her eyes. He'd never seen this side of Isabelle before.

She stood up. "What are you doing here?"

Maryse answered. "Jonathan is going to be staying with us for a couple weeks. It was meant to be a surprise for Clary... Where _is_ Clary?"

"We gave her some time alone with Jace," said Isabelle. "She's still in there."

"Well, I won't disturb her," said Jonathan. "May I sit with you?"

Isabelle nodded. They both sat down next to each other.

"I'll make some tea," said Maryse, and she left.

Isabelle put her head on Jonathan's shoulder.

"How bad is it?" He asked quietly.

"Ordi demon poison," said Alec. He was staring ahead, no emotion in his voice.

Jonathan sucked in a breath. His father had taught him about Ordi demons, and what their poison was capable of- death.

"Dear lord, I'm sorry."

Isabelle choked out a sob, and put her hand to her face.

Jonathan put his arms around her, comforting her. "It'll be alright," he said, although he truly didn't know.


	17. Chapter 17

**I didn't post the sneak peek on here last time. I did, however post it on the site. So, those of you who read it have not been so stressed ;)**

**I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

Clary had fallen asleep, head on the mattress Jace slept on, and her hand in his. It was morning now, Clary could tell, the sun shined through the tall windows.

Jace was sleeping- but he looked a whole lot better. His skin had gotten back some of it's color, he was sweating less, and his breathing was quieter- more even.

Clary climbed onto the bed next to Jace, laying beside him, holding his hand, and she looked at his face. He looked beautiful- the sunlight touched his skin and gave it a certain glow. His face was relaxed, and the purple bags under his eyes were nearly gone.

His chest expanded slowly, then fell. She slowly drifted off.

* * *

Jonathan woke up next to Isabelle. They were still on the bench outside of the infirmary. Isabelle's head was on his shoulder, and his head rested on her's, one of his arms was around her back, the other rested on her knee. He removed it and looked around.

Alec was sleeping, too, and there was someone sitting next to him- a warlock, Jonathan knew- it was the same one Alec was kissing at the anniversary party- no one else dressed like that. Jonathan carefully propped up Isabelle, and tried not to wake anyone. He opened the infirmary door quietly and slipped in.

Jonathan walked over to the occupied bed. On it, was Jace- looking slightly ill, but somehow extremely handsome at the same time- and Clary, cuddled into his side.

Jonathan smiled. His sister looked so peaceful in sleep- as a lot of people did- and she looked younger. He noticed she was in Shadowhunter gear, covered in dried black ichor- she probably hadn't left him since he'd been hurt. A shimmer caught his eye, it was a necklace Clary wore. It had a thin silver chain, and the charm was a blue gem. Why would she wear such a piece of jewelry hunting? Not to mention that Clary didn't usually _wear_ jewelry. It must have been a gift, he thought, maybe for her birthday.

Jonathan decided to leave them, and left the infirmary. He sat back down next to Isabelle, and waited.

Maryse came by later with a tray. She looked at Jonathan. "Good morning," she whispered. "I suppose your first night wasn't very comfortable."

Jonathan thought of Isabelle. "It was, actually. Thank you."

Maryse seemed to be in a slightly better mood than yesterday, though she was still worried, he could tell. "I went in to check on them," he said. "Jace looks almost fine to me."

A look a relief washed over her face. "Good," she smiled. She seemed to remember the tray in her hands, and set it on his left- where Isabelle wasn't. "I thought you may be hungry."

On the tray was a large plate of french toast, a stack of smaller plates, a bunch of forks, and thin glasses with a picture if orange juice.

"Thank you."

Maryse nodded, then slipped into the infirmary.

* * *

Jace opened his eyes. He was lying on a bed in the infirmary, sunlight poured through the windows.

He smelled the smell of demon blood and looked to his left. Clary was lying next to him, fast asleep and holding his hand. She was still in Shadowhunter gear, and the front of it was covered in black ichor. That's where the smell of demon blood was coming from, Clary hadn't changed since they'd gotten back.

He heard a door open and close, and a pair of shoes approaching him. He slowly looked at the approacher.

Maryse grinned when she saw him. "You're awake," she whispered, she sounded incredibly happy.

"I'm getting there," he said, though his voice was vaguely dull.

Maryse looked relieved at him humor. "How are you feeling?"

Jace shrugged slowly. "A little strange, and surprisingly weak, but a lot better."

Maryse nodded. "That's good. Do you remember what happened?"

Jace took a slow breath before talking. "I was fighting the _ugliest_ demon I'd ever seen, then it bit me. That's it."

Maryse nodded. "It was a ordi demon."

Jace's eyebrows went up. "And I'm still alive? I guess I'm that lucky ten percent."

Maryse nodded. "Well, I'm going to get you two some breakfast. I'll be back in a few."

Jace nodded and thanked her, then she left. He turned his attention back to Clary. She stirred slightly by his side. Jace moved a stray curl out of her face.

"Thank you," he whispered to her.

* * *

Isabelle stirred next to Jonathan. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him. "Hi."

Jonathan smiled at her. "Hi. How'd you sleep?"

Isabelle was about to say something when the infirmary doors opened. Maryse stepped out, grinning like a mad woman. She shut the door gently behind her.

"How's Jace?" Asked Isabelle.

"He's good," said Maryse. "He looks much better, and he's talking."

Isabelle grinned. "Can we see him?"

Maryse glanced back at the room. "... I would give them a few more minutes."

Isabelle nodded. "Okay."

Maryse walked down the hall.

Isabelle turned to Jonathan. "Thank the angel."

Jonathan smiled. His fingers touched her hand on the bench next to him.

They heard Magnus yawning and looked over. He was standing, stretching his arms. He glanced over at them. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure," he said, looking at Jonathan.

Jonathan cleared his throat. "Jonathan Morgenstern, how do you do?" It was an empty question.

Magnus dropped his arms to his sides. "I should go figure that out," he walked into the infirmary without another word. A few seconds later, he came back out. "He's fine, though I would suggest installing a lock on this door."

The look on Jonathan's face made Isabelle burst out laughing.

Alec woke up. "Magnus?"

Isabelle looked over at her brother. "Jace is okay."

They all stood up and walked in.

Jace was laying down, but there were extra pillows under his head to prop him up some. Clary was sitting on the bed next to him. She was looking at Jace, not noticing Jonathan.

They walked up to Jace's bedside.

"How're you feeling?" Asked Alec.

Clary looked up then, and her eyes widened when she saw Jonathan.

"I've felt better," said Jace.

"... I..." Clary looked back and forth between Jonathan and everyone else. "Everyone else can see my brother, too... Right?"

Isabelle glanced over at him. "Oh, yeah. Surprise."

Clary smiled, but didn't leave Jace's side.

Jonathan walked around the bed and hugged Clary. "I suppose there would have been better times for me to arrive," said Jonathan. He stood up straight again.

Clary was smiling. "It seems like a perfectly good time to me."

"... I actually arrived last night, but I didn't want to get in the way so..."

Clary frowned. "Oh."

Isabelle cleared her throat and everyone looked at her. "So, are you well enough for a smack down in training?" She asked Jace.

"Actually, he's not allowed to leave bed today," said Magnus. "He should be extremely weak right now."

Alec raised his eyebrow at his boyfriend. "'_Should_'?"

Magnus' cat eyes gave him a knowing look.

Jonathan eyed Jace's cocky smile and Clary's blush with extreme suspicion.

"Well," said Isabelle. "I'm going to change. You should, too, Clary. You've still got demon blood all over you."

Clary looked down at herself. "Oh, I suppose I do."

The necklace shimmered in the sunlight, catching Jonathan's eye.

"Let's go," said Isabelle, taking Jonathan's hand.

He leaned closer to her and murmured- "I don't think we should leave those two alone..."

Isabelle started laughing.

"Don't worry," said Magnus. "I'll be tending to him. You go change."

Alec kissed his boyfriend, then they all three left.

* * *

The second the door was shut, Magnus turned to Clary. "How did you get back here without me? You couldn't have taken him on the train with you," there was suspicion in his cat-like eyes.

Clary held her breath.

Jace looked up at Clary. "You didn't... You _did_, didn't you?"

Clary sighed. "You can't tell anyone," said Clary. "I've been having these dreams... and I learn new runes from them... I learned how to make a portal."

Magnus' eyes widened. "That isn't possible."

Clary pulled her stele out of her boot, got off the bed, and drew the rune on the wall. She stood back as it swirled into a portal.

Magnus' eyes were wide. "How does that work?"

Clary sat back down on Jace's bed and set her stele on the small table next to his bed. "I have no clue."

"How many more work?" He asked.

"We've tested out one other in secret," said Jace. "Clary has dozens, though."

"... May I see them?" Asked Magnus.

Clary looked at Jace, not wanting to leave. "Alright..."

Before she could get up, Magnus snapped his fingers, and her notebook was in his hand. He flipped through the pages. "Interesting... Would you care to demonstrate another?"

Clary nodded. She took the book from Magnus, and flipped it open to the page that showed the first rune she tested out with Jace. "I can't draw it on my arms," she said. "The other may see."

"Here, I'll draw it," said Jace.

Clary handed him the stele. She scoot closer and pulled the collar of her top down to expose her collar bone. She was blushing.

He drew the rune, and handed her the stele back.

Magnus' eyes widened. "_Alec_?"

Jace looked at Clary. "Your brother may have been right about the rune."

Clary nodded and blushed. She wondered who Jace saw her as, but was afraid to ask.

She took out of of the unused knives from her boot, and cut the rune, wincing as she slashed her skin.

Magnus cleared his throat. "Strange..."

"Indeed," said Jace.

* * *

Jonathan pulled on a gray t-shirt with black jeans. He saw an envelope on the floor, and picked it up. It was addressed to him from Clary- she'd probably sent it while he was here last night.

He read it, and his eyes widened. She'd never actually said it to him, though he'd assumed it. He wondered if she had told him the night before...

He went out. Isabelle was waiting for him outside the door, a playful smile on her face. She wore a black v-necked tank top, a short silver skirt, and high heel boots.

"Hey," he said.

She gripped his t-shirt, and yanked him to her, and they kissed. He placed his hands on her hips, kissing her fiercely.

After about a minute, she pulled away. "I missed you," she said.

"I missed you, too," he went back to kissing her.

* * *

Magnus had left a few minutes ago. Clary was sitting on Jace's bed again.

"I'm going to have to explain to Alec and Isabelle," said Clary. "They saw me open it."

Jace nodded slowly.

"But I won't tell Jonathan," she sighed. "He'd freak."

Jace reached out and took Clary's hand. She looked at him.

"I saw you, by the way..."

Clary wasn't sure what he meant.

"When you used the rune on yourself... I saw _you_."

Clary's face burned red. "... Maybe it didn't work on you," she said very faintly.

Jace's mouth pulled up at the corner. "I think you made up the part about it only working sometimes."

Clary's blush deepened.

Jace smiled at her. "Come here."

She did, and they kissed.

Maryse had brought breakfast for everyone into the room, and people sat on the surrounding beds with plates of french toast. Jonathan and Isabelle were sitting together, and Alec sat on another on the opposite side.

"Maryse is a pretty good cook," said Jonathan.

"Unfortunately," said Jace. "It doesn't run in the family."

Clary snickered at the memory of Isabelle's attempt to cook when Maryse was gone.

Isabelle glared at Jace.

Jonathan looked over at Isabelle and smiled.

Magnus walked into the room. "I see you're doing well," he said. "How do you feel?"

Jace swallowed a bite of french toast. "Fine," he was propped up to an almost sitting position.

"That's good," said Magnus. He sat next to Alec and got a plate of french toast, too.

"Clary," said Jace in a low voice.

Clary leaned slightly closer to hear him better.

"You may need to tell your brother anyway," Clary knew what he was talking about already.

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Guys..."

They looked at her.

"... The portal... It was how I got back to Idris... I made it..."

They were staring at her.

"What are you talking about?" said Jonathan.

Clary swallowed. "I used a rune to make a portal. That's how I'd gotten back to Idris after the anniversary party..."

"But that's..." Isabelle's face was full of confusion- probably because she'd seen it in action, but thought it was impossible.

"Clary... There aren't runes that-" Clary cut Jonathan off.

"Jonathan, I drew a rune and it created a portal. Not just in the forest, but last night, too. That's how we got Jace back so quickly."

Jonathan was staring with wide eyes.

Clary picked up her stele and stood. She drew the rune on the wall, and sat back down next to Jace.

The rune turned into a portal, and Clary watched Jonathan's face.

"I have dreams with these runes in them," said Clary. "Don't ask me why, because I don't know... And... Please, don't tell anyone. Who knows what the Clave would do if they found out."

The portal closed.

Jonathan didn't move for a moment. "... Do all of the others do things, too?" He asked slowly.

"I don't know, maybe. We haven't tested all of them out yet... Actually, we haven't tested any since the first time, I did this in the woods on instinct."

Isabelle was gaping.

Clary looked at Jace.

He gave her a look of encouragement.

She looked back at Jonathan. "Dear god, please say something."

"... I..." Jonathan was struggling for words. "... Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't tell anyone," she said.

"You told Jace," Clary could hear Jonathan was trying to keep anger out of his voice.

"I was there when Clary discovered it," he said. "I told her to keep it a secret."

"Well, I'm her brother," the anger was plain on Jonathan's face, but she could see he was fighting to keep in down. His voice was raised slightly, and he was gripping the edge of the bed he sat on. "She could have trusted me."

"I'm sorry..." Said Clary.

"She could have trusted Alec and Isabelle, too, but I told her not to tell anyone. I thought the less people who know, the better."

"It's only coming out now because I used the rune in front of them," Clary gestured to Alec and Isabelle- who were dumbfounded.

Jonathan took in a sharp deep breath, then slowly exhaled- trying to calm himself, Clary had seen him do this dozens of times in the past. "Clary..." His voice was much calmer now. "I think we should test out these other runes."

* * *

**And now, a sneak peek at chapter 18!**

**Chapter 18**

**"Try this one," said Jonathan, showing Clary her own notebook.**

**Clary closed her eyes and tried to remember the dream she'd had when she'd seen it- to figure out what to draw it on.**

**With her stele in hand, she walked over to the wall and drew it.**

**"Hold on..." said Magnus.**

**Clary finished the rune.**

**"Clary, no!" yelled Magnus.**

**The room started to shake, and Clary stumbled back. The rune was glowing, and a crack appeared from the ceiling to the floor.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm officially done writing this story- epilogue and all! I'm thinking about writing a spin-off, too.**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys! They're awesome!**

* * *

"Try this one," said Jonathan, showing Clary her own notebook.

Clary closed her eyes and tried to remember the dream she'd had when she'd seen it- to figure out what to draw it on.

With her stele in hand, she walked over to the wall and drew it.

"Hold on..." said Magnus.

Clary finished the rune.

"Clary, no!" yelled Magnus.

The room started to shake, and Clary stumbled back. The rune was glowing, and a crack appeared from the ceiling to the floor.

Magnus held out his hand. A blue light came from it, and the shaking stopped, and the crack and rune disappeared.

Isabelle breathed a sigh of relief.

"What just happened?" Asked Jace.

"Her rune said '_Open_'," said Magnus. "It would have torn the room in half."

Clary pressed her index fingers to her temples. She was still on the ground.

"Clary, are you alright?" Asked Jace from his bed.

"Yeah," said Clary. "Just had a bit of a scare," she laughed nervously. "Let's do another," She stood up.

Jonathan wrote down the results and turned the page. He showed her the rune- it looked like an eye with a scare...

Clary remembered the dream. She took a deep breath, and put the stele to her skin.

"Wait," said Jonathan. "Do it on me."

Clary shook her head and drew it onto her arm. "I'll do it," She felt something change inside of her- but wasn't sure what it was.

"Do you feel any different?" Asked Alec.

"A little, though I'm not sure how."

"I don't think you look any different," said Jace.

"She looks the same to me," said Isabelle.

"Um... Try to identify what's different," said Jonathan.

Clary closed her eyes and looked inside herself. There was definitely something different, though she couldn't figure out what.

Clary could feel everyone's eyes on her, and her heart sped up slightly, thinking of Jace watching her... Clary's mind wandered, thinking of the night before- how scared she was that Jace was going to die. Then it hit her. Before, there had been a little spark of fear, of worrying about who'd gotten her runes tested on them, scared that they would get hurt, but she no longer felt it... She knew she should feel it, but it just wasn't there.

"I... I think I've found what's different," said Clary. "But I'm not sure why..."

"What is it?" asked Jonathan.

"I could be wrong," Clary still had her eyes closed. "But... Before, when Isabelle tested the last rune, I was worried that it would end up hurting her- but that feeling had vanished. It may not be the rune, it may just be me..."

"What if I tried the next rune?" said Jace.

Clary's eyes opened. "You can't, you're not strong enough," Clary felt weird. She knew she should feel scared that Jace would get worse from being a test subject on an experimental rune, but it wasn't there. It felt almost empty... She forced herself to go back to her thought from yesterday- about Jace not making it. She felt sad- very sad, but not scared like she had been. Right now, she could summon no fear.

"I'm not afraid," she said.

"That's good," said Magnus.

"No, I mean I think that's what the rune does. I can't feel any fear at all. Nothing..." Clary almost felt guilty about not feeling it when she thought about Jace's death. She shoved the thoughts out of her mind and opened her eyes.

"Interesting..." said Jace.

Alec stood up. "Try it on me," Alec came up next to Clary and pulled up his sleeve.

Clary drew it on without hesitation- usually, she would have due to fear, but it wasn't there.

After she was done, Alec was looking at some point in the distance. He looked spaced out.

"Alec?"

"Clary's right," he said finally. "I feel nothing."

Jonathan wrote it in the notebook.

"That will be extremely helpful for battling demons," said Jace.

"Maybe," said Clary. "But if you don't have fear, you may have less adrenalin..."

"Good point," said Isabelle.

Clary picked the dagger from the table and cut her arm. She was immediately aware of fear returning. It made her shiver. A small trickle of blood began to run down her arm.

Alec took the dagger from her and did the same. He shivered after, too.

"Okay... What about this one?" Jonathan showed the rune.

Clary frowned. "That one was a weird dream," she said. "There was a Shadowhunter and a vampire... And they both had the rune."

Jonathan frowned. "That _is_ weird."

Clary shrugged.

"Maybe we should get that Simon guy to be a lab rat, too," said Isabelle.

"No!" Clary said quickly. "That could kill him."

"I know," said Isabelle. "I was only joking."

Clary sighed.

Jonathan turned to another page. "What about this?"

Magnus' eyes widened. "That's the mark of Cain."

Clary looked at him. "What?"

"You've drawn the mark of Cain in that silly book of yours."

Isabelle's eyes widened.

"Just out of curiosity," said Alec. "No offence of course, but why is it you're getting these dreams?"

Clary shrugged. "I've gotten dreams like this as long as I can remember."

"That's kind of cool," said Isabelle.

The infirmary doors opened, and everyone hid the things they held.

Maryse walked in with a large tray of tea. "How's Jace?" she asked, setting the tray down on a table.

"Jace is good," said Jace. "Though he does not appreciate not being talked to directly."

Maryse laughed. "Very well. You seem much better."

"I think I am," said Jace.

"Good. Well, you kids have fun, alright?"

Isabelle nodded.

Maryse didn't seem to notice that everyone was being weird. She left.

* * *

Jonathan slid the seraph blade into his belt.

"Put a knife into your boot," said Isabelle. "It comes in handy."

Jonathan took a dagger from the row of daggers.

"Are you nervous?" Asked Isabelle.

"Not really, actually," he lied.

They were getting ready to go demon hunting, and it would be Jonathan's first time- and his first time in the city, too.

"Should I get Clary?" asked Jonathan. Isabelle and Alec were in the weapons room with him, but Clary wasn't there yet.

Isabelle shook her head. "Jace still has to convince her to go. She doesn't want to leave him."

Jonathan nodded and focused on lacing his boots up the rest of the way. Clary hadn't left Jace's side since he'd gotten there. He understood that she loved him, but it didn't make him feel much better.

"Sorry I'm late," said Clary, walking into the room. She went right to the weapons rack and began arming herself.

Jonathan watched her curiously. She looked like she knew what she was doing, and that this was a daily routine, like getting dressed. She was done in a minute, fully armed. She looked over at Jonathan. "Nervous?"

Jonathan shook his head, but it wasn't truthful. He was nervous as hell.

Clary smiled in a way that said she knew he wasn't being honest. She'd always been able to tell.

Jonathan was staring around them. They were on the train, and he'd never been. He looked at all the people sitting around casually, and how the train rocked about. He was most fascinated with looking out the window, though, seeing how incredibly fast they were going. "By the angel, how does thing thing go so fast?"

Clary laughed. "Engines."

Just then, there was a loud screech, and the train slowed down rather quickly, the lights turning off.

Alec- who was sitting on Jonathan's left slammed into him, and he slammed into Isabelle. Clary- who was standing, hanging onto a pole- made a sound of surprise and she flew to the floor and tumbled down the lane.

"Clary!" Jonathan called.

The train was stopped now, the few mundanes that were in their car were talking- panicked.

"I'm alright!" Clary called.

Jonathan took out his witchlight.

Clary walked over to them.

"That doesn't usually happen," said Clary, she didn't seem that effected by the whole situation. "Come on, let's get out," she walked up to the train's door and carved a rune.

Isabelle, Jonathan and Alec walked up to where Clary was. The doors opened and they all went out.

"How close are we?" Asked Isabelle.

"Another block or two. This is pretty convenient, actually."

Jonathan was looking at the distant city light polluting the night sky. "I understand why you like New York so much," he said.

Clary giggled.

"This is it," said Alec.

This place looked like an abandoned hospital.

Clary's eyes widened. "Oh..."

Jonathan looked at her. "What's wrong?"

Clary shook her head. "Nothing, just mind the random holes in the floor," she smirked and started walking.

"Oh," Jonathan remembered from her letters what she was talking about. "This place."

They walked in and Alec looked at his tracker. "There are several- I'm assuming on all three floors."

Jonathan nodded. "Should we split up?"

Isabelle shook her head. "Last time we did that was the last time we were here."

"Oh, okay."

They walked as a group, everyone alert.

Isabelle took out her whip. Everyone followed her lead, taking out their weapons.

"Ariel," said Clary.

"Jehoel," said Jonathan.

Alec drew out his bow and strung it.

A demon that resembled an octopus came at then.

"Again?!" Exclaimed Clary.

Alec shot at it with an arrow, but it just seemed to anger it.

Isabelle cracked her whip.

Clary threw her seraph blade, and it stuck in it's head. Clary retrieved her sword just before the vile thing disappeared. "One thing," she said. "Don't let those things touch you."

Jonathan nodded. "Wasn't planning on it."

They encountered a couple more, and easily killed them off. Jonathan had even killed one.

They were on the second floor now.

"I think I saw something move," said Clary.

Alec looked at his tracker. "There aren't any demons near us, Clary."

She shook her head at herself. "Gosh, I'm jumpy."

They walked about two dozen more feet.

"There!" Isabelle shouted. She cracked her whip and it wrapped around it's tentacle, detaching it.

Jonathan swung his sword and it sliced the top of it's head off.

Isabelle laughed. "Nice one."

"Indeed it was."

They all looked into the darkness. A man stepped out slowly, and Clary sucked in a breath.

"You're very impressive, boy," he said. "You must be a Morgenstern, you resemble him."

"Who are you?" Asked Isabelle, whip poised.

The man's mouth twitched at the corner. "Maybe little Clarissa can tell you."

They glanced at Clary.

"... Pangborn..." She said.

Jonathan's head whipped toward the man. "You," he snarled, readying his knife.

Pangborn laughed.

"How did you find me?" Asked Clary, her voice shaky.

"I have my sources," he said.

"What do you want with her?" Asked Alec- who sounded angry.

Pangborn chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know- let me guess... Lightwood? Oh, how you look like your lovely mother."

Alec snarled.

"... Did _you_ stop the train?" Asked Clary. Jonathan could hear her fear.

"No, Blackwell did," Pangborn smiled. "He was looking for you, but you got out too quickly. It's a good thing we'd had this setup as a backup."

Clary sucked in a breath.

Alec shot an arrow through Pangborn's shoulder, and he cried out. "Run!"

They all turned and ran down the hall.

A demon was waiting for them, and Alec pulled out a seraph blade, called its name, and sliced through it.

They continued down the hall.

"Was this a trap?" Asked Isabelle.

"It looks like it," said Alec. "That means it isn't going to be easy to get out."

They ran into different demons- ones Jonathan couldn't identify right away. They had long arms with claws.

Isabelle's whip coiled around one of the demon's wrist. Clary grunted with the force she put into the blow of decapitating it. Ichor got onto Clary's gear, and it disappeared. Alec's sword detached another from it's lower half.

Jonathan stabbed one in the chest.

They stopped by a staircase when demons came from in front of them and behind them.

"This way!" said Alec, running up.

The others followed him.

Jonathan's heart was pounding from running. He spun around and chopped off a demon's head off, then continued up.

They ran down the hall, and Clary yanked Jonathan to the left. He'd just missed falling through a gaping hole in the floor.

"Thanks," he said, they they bolted again.

When they rounded the corner, Alec said- "Hold on, I'm going to call Magnus," he pulled out his phone, and put it to his ear. "Magnus?"

A demon came from around the corner, and Isabelle was on it.

"Magnus, Pangborn and Blackwell are here for Clary. We've walked into a trap."

The demon screamed as Clary's knife entered its heart.

They ran down a different hall- one with painting things scattered around, and a large sheet of paper covering patches of the floor.

Isabelle stepped onto the paper and screamed. The paper had been covering a hole in the floor, and Isabelle fell through.

Jonathan, Clary and Alec called her name at the same time. They looked down, and Isabelle had been grabbed by a man. He smiled as Isabelle struggled in his grip. He put a knife to her throat.

Alec drew an arrow and aimed.

"I wouldn't do that, boy," he said. "I die, this dagger will kill her," he jerked his chin toward Isabelle- who squirmed in his grip.

Alec swallowed. He didn't shoot, but he kept it drawn.

The man began laughing.

Clary growled. She jumped and grabbed the rim of the hole, then pulled up her legs as she swung over him head.

He looked at Clary, and Isabelle's elbow hit his stomach. It distracted him long enough for Isabelle to escape him grip. She drew her knife and stabbed him in the stomach. Clary used a long piece of pipe to knock him out.

The man collapsed.

"Demons!" said Isabelle. She looked up. "Get down stairs! Go!" Demons came at Isabelle and Clary, and they swung their swords, black ichor raining everywhere.

Alec grabbed Jonathan's arm and yanked him to run towards the staircase.

When they got to the bottom, they encountered more demons.

* * *

Clary ripped her sword through the demon's stomach. Their numbers had dwindled enough for Clary and Isabelle to run. The ran toward the staircase to go down, but a tall six armed demon was blocking the way.

Isabelle came at it with her whip. It wrapped around one of it's wrists. It groaned, and swatted Isabelle aside. She screamed and she got thrown through a window.

"ISABELLE!" Clary screamed.

The creature swatted Clary in the opposite direction, against a wall, knocking the wind out of her. She fell to the ground gasping.

Clary heard a man's laugh. She looked up, Pangborn and Blackwell stood before her, grinning.

* * *

Jonathan and Alec ran into another patch of demons. They slashed and stabbed at the screeching creatures.

"ISABELLE!" It was Clary's voice, a frantic scream.

"Clary!" Called Jonathan.

It felt far too long before they finished them off and ran toward the staircase that lead downstairs. There was a giant six armed demon there, waiting for them.

Alec shot it's eye with an arrow. It's scream was deafening. Alec's second arrow blinded it. It swatted at them, and they ducked and evaded.

Jonathan got behind it and stabbed the base of it's spine. It's back arched as it cried. It's foot knocked Jonathan down the stairs. He tumbled down. He was on the first floor now. "Alec!" He called up the stairs.

The demon's screams went silent.

Alec descended the stairs. "Come one, we have to find-" he broke off when they heard the sound of a female scream.

They ran out the front door, and saw a cloaked figure over a screaming girl. Alec drew his sword and ran towards them, but stopped and said- "Magnus!" He ran to them.

Jonathan got there. Magnus's hand was glowing, and on the ground screaming was Isabelle. Jonathan dropped beside her. "What happened?!"

"She's broke several ribs and her leg," said Magnus.

Jonathan and Alec both pulled out their steles and began drawing the _iratze_.

Isabelle's screams died down. "C-Clary," she managed. "Where's Clary?

Jonathan looked back at the house and jumped up.

"No point, Jonathan," said Magnus. "I can sense it, there are no humans inside that hospital."

* * *

**I'll be posting Saturday (because it's my birthday) _and_ Sunday this week!**

**Sneak peek of chapter 19!**

**Chapter 19**

**Jace was in the infirmary, staring at the ceiling, bored. Everyone else had gone demon hunting, and he hated that he couldn't go. Besides the feeling of slight weakness, he felt completely fine.**

**He heard the infirmary doors burst open and turned his head. He sat up when he saw Jonathan hurrying in flanked by Magnus and Alec, Isabelle limp in his arms.**

**"Isabelle!" Jace got out of bed.**

**Jonathan set Isabelle down on the bed to his right- she looked awful, covered in sweat, blood and ichor. Magnus ran to her side and hovered his glowing hands over her.**

**Jace went to Isabelle's side next to Jonathan. "What happened?"**

**"Alexander," said Magnus. "Get Maryse and get something of Clary's that I can track her with."**

**Alec nodded and ran out.**

**"Track Clary? What's going on? Someone say something!" Jace demanded.**

**Isabelle was gasping instead of breathing, and her eyes were shut, but she seemed as if she was awake- jerking about and making pained sounds.**

**"Isabelle fell out of a window," said Jonathan. "And Clary-"**

**"Oh dear," said Magnus. He pulled up her shirt to expose her stomach. She had three claw marks diagonally from her hip to her ribcage, they weren't bleeding, they were black, and her veins around the cuts bulged and looked black, too.**

**"Oh, Iz..." Said Jonathan, taking her hand.**

**"Oh my... That looks bad..." Said Jace.**

**"You think?"**

**"Isabelle!" Maryse's voice came from the doorway. She ran to the bed next to Jace. "What happened?!"**

**"A demon," said Jonathan. "It was an ambush... A group of men and dozens of demons... They took Clary."**

**Jace looked at Jonathan. He stood up and ran from the room.**

**Jace entered the greenhouse. He walked over to the stones that lined the dirt area full of plants. He picked up one of the stones and there it was- a zip lock bag with a folded map inside.**

**Jace got his stele, weapons and Clary's notebook. He drew runes up and down his arms, then the portal rune drawn in Clary's notebook. He looked at the map again, then stepped through.**


	19. Chapter 19

Jace was in the infirmary, staring at the ceiling, bored. Everyone else had gone demon hunting, and he hated that he couldn't go. Besides the feeling of slight weakness, he felt completely fine.

He heard the infirmary doors burst open and turned his head. He sat up when he saw Jonathan hurrying in flanked by Magnus and Alec, Isabelle limp in his arms.

"Isabelle!" Jace got out of bed.

Jonathan set Isabelle down on the bed to his right- she looked awful, covered in sweat, blood and ichor. Magnus ran to her side and hovered his glowing hands over her.

Jace went to Isabelle's side next to Jonathan. "What happened?"

"Alexander," said Magnus. "Get Maryse and get something of Clary's that I can track her with."

Alec nodded and ran out.

"Track Clary? What's going on? Someone say something!" Jace demanded.

Isabelle was gasping instead of breathing, and her eyes were shut, but she seemed as if she was awake- jerking about and making pained sounds.

"Isabelle fell out of a window," said Jonathan. "And Clary-"

"Oh dear," said Magnus. He pulled up her shirt to expose her stomach. She had three claw marks diagonally from her hip to her ribcage, they weren't bleeding, they were black, and her veins around the cuts bulged and looked black, too.

"Oh, Iz..." Said Jonathan, taking her hand.

"Oh my... That looks bad..." Said Jace.

"You think?"

"Isabelle!" Maryse's voice came from the doorway. She ran to the bed next to Jace. "What happened?!"

"A demon," said Jonathan. "It was an ambush... A group of men and dozens of demons... They took Clary."

Jace looked at Jonathan. He stood up and ran from the room.

Jace entered the greenhouse. He walked over to the stones that lined the dirt area full of plants. He picked up one of the stones and there it was- a zip lock bag with a folded map inside.

Jace got his stele, weapons and Clary's notebook. He drew runes up and down his arms, then the portal rune drawn in Clary's notebook. He looked at the map again, then stepped through.

* * *

Alec ran up with something in his hand: Clary's sketchbook. "Here, Magnus."

Magnus glanced over. "Good," he looked over at Maryse. "Maryse, I'm going to need-" Jonathan didn't hear the list he'd given Maryse. He looked at Isabelle's pained face. She had a sheet of sweat covering her, and it disagreed with her makeup.

Maryse came back with a bag of things. She laid the containers of things out on the bed to the right of the one Isabelle lay on.

Magnus turned to get the things from behind him.

* * *

Clary stood in a forest. It was black, and she could only see silhouettes. There was a light in the distance, and it was moving toward her.

Clary walked toward it. She stumbled forward into a stream, but caught herself. When she looked up, the light was gone.

She turned around and jumped. The light was right there- and wasn't a light at all, but a human with light radiating out of their skin. It was Jace. He wore all white, and there was an unfamiliar rune on his arm.

He grabbed her shoulders urgently. "You're in danger, Clary, remember?"

Clary remembered what had happened. She grabbed him shirt.

"Don't make me go back, please," she begged.

"Clary, you have to. You have to fight them."

"Jace-"

"Fight for me, Clary. Come back to me. "

Clary nodded.

"Alright?"

"Yes, I'll come back."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

Jace looked around, alarmed. "Hold on," he said. He pulled her to him chest and crouched with her.

The ground shook- like an earthquake- for several seconds, then stopped.

Jace- still crouched- grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from him so she could see his face.

"There isn't more time Clary, I must go," he looked right into her eyes. "Wake up now, Clary. Wake up. _Wake up_!"

Clary's eyes shot open. She was in a room that wasn't her own. It had blue carpeted floors, and a large window straight ahead of her. She ran to it, but saw it didn't open. She gazed outside into the blackness and her mouth dropped open. She was definitely _not_ in New York.

She heard a door open and turned around. A small girl poked her head in. "Ah, good, you're awake," she stepped in and closed the door.

"Who are you?" Asked Clary. "Where am I?"

The girl smiled at her- her smile made Clary's skin crawl, though she didn't know why.

"My name is Maureen," she said. "And you're in Shanghai."

Clary's eyes widened. "I'm in China?!"

"Yes. Come with me, my mistress wants to see you," she grinned.

Clary realized then that she was a vampire. "No, I'm not going anywhere with you."

The girl's grin stretched across her face. "I was kind of hoping you'd say that."

Clary flinched. "Why?"

Maureen cackled. "Because we've got your boyfriend."

* * *

Jonathan gripped Isabelle's hand. She looked worse. The black veins around her cuts had branched out slightly.

"Where's Jace?" Asked Alec.

"He ran out of here," said Jonathan.

Alec stood. "I'm going to look for him," Then he left the room.

* * *

Clary stopped breathing.

Maureen laughed. "Are you surprised?"

"But... He was at the Institute," Clary sputtered. "He was safe-"

"That poor soul came looking for you, and we got him then," Maureen's fangs were presented. "Now, if you don't behave yourself, I'll personally sink my fangs into his throat. Am I making myself clear?"

Clary swallowed and nodded.

"Good," said Maureen. "Come with me."

The hall was dark- only lit by candles. She was lead up a flight of stairs, down another hall and stopped in front of a door. Maureen knocked. "Mistress, I have the Morgenstern girl here to see you," she called through the door.

"Send her in," said the voice from the other side.

Maureen opened the door and gestured Clary in. She shut door shut behind her.

There was a candelabra hanging from the ceiling, full of lit candles that poorly lit the room, and a coffee table between two couches. There was a woman sitting on one, sipping something from a wine glass- Clary couldn't tell if it was blood of wine in the lighting.

The woman gestured to the couch across from her. "Please sit, Miss Morgenstern."

Clary obediently sat across from the woman.

"Wine?"

Clary shook her head.

"Alright," the woman set down her glass and looked at Clary.

She was beautiful, Clary thought.

"I suppose you want to know why you're here, don't you?"

"Pangborn and Blackwell said it was for money," Clary had her hands folded in her lap.

The woman raised her eyebrow. "Did they? Was that the first time?"

Clary nodded. "But you should know, my parents are very stubborn, they probably wouldn't meet your demands."

The woman chuckled lightly. "You really think we would have gone through all of that trouble to get money?" She grinned. "The first time, yes, it was about money. I've got to say, you're pretty talented for someone so small. But now, it's different."

Clary took a deep breath. "How?" She tried to stay as calm as possible.

"Some of my men saw you open a portal in the woods, Miss Morgenstern, I'd like to know how."

Clary sucked in a breath. She looked down at her hands.

"Miss Morgenstern, I don't like to be kept waiting. I'm sure Maureen has-"

"Honestly," Clary cut her off, not wanting a reminder of what Maureen had said. "I'm not sure."

"Oh?"

"I don't know the core reason, no."

"Are you possibly part warlock?" She asked.

"I couldn't be, I don't have the marks to prove it," she glanced up at the woman.

She smiled slightly. "I knew a warlock with no marks once," she said. "She was talented, too."

"My parents aren't demons-"

"Maybe not," said the woman. "But there are ways you could be a warlock, you never know."

Clary felt sick at the mention of this.

"Pity," said the woman. "I was hoping it wasn't genetic, so I wouldn't have to use you."

Clary looked up. "Use me?"

She waved her hand. "Oh, no, I've already got a warlock. I was just curious as to your story, that's all."

Clary swallowed and looked down. It wasn't genetic, Clary knew, but dreams- though not knowing the core reason _was_ the truth, because she had no idea where the runes came from.

"And of course, Miss Morgenstern," She said. "I was rather hoping to part friends."

Clary looked up. "_Friends_? But..." _but you're holding Jace captive to make me cooperate_, she thought. "But... I don't even know your name."

The woman smiled. "Of course, how silly of me. My name is Camille Belcourt."

* * *

"I'll be heading to bed soon," said Camille. "You aren't to scare Miss Morgenstern again, do you understand? I want this relationship to be a healthy one."

Maureen bowed. "I apologize, Mistress. I only wanted her to behave herself."

"Well, don't let it happen again, or I'll have your head," Camille snapped.

They were in the room Camille had met Miss Morgenstern in a few hours previous. There was a servant by the door, waiting for Camille to ask for something.

"Yes Mistress. Please forgive me."

Camille nodded. "Leave."

Maureen stood up and left.

"You," Camille pointed to the servant. "Bring up a tray for Miss Morgenstern. She's only human, and she must be hungry."

The man nodded and walked away.

Camille took another sip of her wine. "Dear me," she said to herself. "How am I supposed to earn Miss Morgenstern's trust if she thinks I've _kidnapped_ her boyfriend?"

* * *

Clary lie in her bed, facing the wall. She kept thinking about Jace, how much she wanted to see him. She reached down to her right boot, her stele was there, but she would wait until she was with Jace.

The door opened behind her but she didn't turn, just stared at the wall. The door clicked shut and she heard the sound of a tray being set down.

She remembered the dagger in her left boot and her eyes widened. She yanked the dagger from her boot, spun around, gripped the collar of the man's shirt, and put the dagger to his throat. She was amazed at how fast she was.

His eyes widened and his mouth opened.

"Shh," Clary said quietly.

He looked terrified, his hands were up. His right hand was pointing at the window and he was mouthing something, but Clary wasn't sure what. She glanced at the window just as a beam of sunlight came through her window.

He screamed and so did Clary. She shot back from him and put her dagger back in her boot as he burned and turned into ash.

Clary was staring at where he stood, stunned.

The door opened and a couple armed people came in- Pangborn and Blackwell. Their eyes glances at the floor and at Clary.

"He just..." Clary didn't really know what to say. "He..."

Another figure came from the doorway- he looked slightly familiar- and he looked around the room. "Don't worry about it, Miss Morgenstern, no harm done. He was only a servant."

Clary swallowed.

"Come along," said the third- Clary realized he was a werewolf.

They all left the room.

Clary crawled to the edge of her bed and glanced at the ashes on the ground. He'd been so scared... Clary bit her lip and edged away, tucking her knees up to her chest.

A few minutes later, the werewolf came back in. "Miss Morgenstern, you're needed," he said.

Clary sighed and stood up.

"Please come with me," Clary followed him down a staircase, then another, and another, and another...

"Um... Where are we going?" She asked.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "You'll see."

A few staircases later, she saw Pangborn. "Hey, why is she down here?"

The werewolf turned to him. "She was summoned."

Pangborn raised his eyebrow. "By who?"

The man smiled. "By me," he transformed and lept at Pangborn and ripped off his head.

Clary gasped and stumbled back.

The werewolf turned back human and grabbed her arm. "Run!"

She ran with his grip, but she was very confused. Then, she remembered where she'd seen him before- at Taki's, sitting next to Maia and across from Simon. Jordan. This was a rescue. Her eyes widened, then she pulled away.

He looked back at her. "What are you doing? We have to run," he told her.

"But Jace is still here! I have to go get him!" She turned, but Jordan grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder and continued to run.

"No!" She screamed. "We need to go back! Put me down!"

Jordan ran into a room full of other werewolves- Clary could sense it.

"Kyle! You got her, good! Let's get out of here!" Said one of them.

"Wait! What about-" Clary was cut of.

"Jace isn't in here!" Said Jordan. He set Clary down and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her out.

They went out the front door, and the sunlight hurt Clary's eyes. "Where is he?" she covered her eyes- the darkness inside was almost black, so the sun was like shining a flashlight in your eyes. "Where's Jace?" They continued to run.

Clary tried to adjust, blinking back the water in her eyes. She looked around. They were in a small looking city, and the writing on the signs were all in Chinese.

"Clary, Hurry up!" Said Jordan. Clary ran faster.

Everyone loaded into a van that said something in Chinese on the side. They shut the door and it started.

Clary looked at Jordan. "What the _hell_ is going on?"

"You're welcome for rescuing you," said one of the other werewolves.

Jordan waved him away. "We're Praetor Lupus," said Jordan. "Someone payed us a lot of money to come rescue you."

Clary raised an eyebrow. "... Who?" She asked suspiciously.

Jordan frowned. "Isn't it obvious? Your parents."

* * *

Jocelyn was pacing back and forth nervously in the living room. Valentine was sitting on a chair, reading the letter from Maryse Lightwood that she'd just received.

Valentine looked up from the letter, a look of anger on his face. He stood up and threw the letter onto the chair. "Oh, they are going to burn in _hell_," he spat.

Jocelyn stopped pacing. "What are we going to do?"

Valentine cracked his knuckles. "We are going to hunt those bastards to the end of the earth."

A sound came from the doorway and Jocelyn turned. "Jason? How did you-"

"That isn't important," said Jace, all seriousness in his voice and all over his face. He was in Shadowhunter gear, and fully armed. He walked in. "We need to get Clary back, and I know how to do it."

Jocelyn, Valentine and Jace all went to the Praetor Lupus for their help.

"We'll pay you whatever you want," said Jocelyn. "Just get our daughter back."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Asked the head of the Praetor Lupus.

"I know where she is," said Jace. He handed the man a map.

He eyed it. "China? Isn't that a little far?"

"Ragnor Fell has agreed to help with distance," said Valentine.

"And... How much are you paying, may I ask? What did you have in mind?" His voice held interest and greed.

"Fifty thousand dollars," said Valentine without a reaction to the amount.

The man fought his look of shock. "Very well," he managed. "We will see to it that your daughter is safe."

* * *

Clary blinked. "Jace was there? Why? He's supposed to be in bed!"

"He is now," said one of the others. "He collapsed while he was there. Your parents took him through the portal and that was the last we've seen of him."

Clary's hand went to her mouth. "Is he okay?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sure he's fine," said Jordan.

The van stopped. "We're here," said whoever was driving.

They got out of the van. They were in an alley that smelled like rotten Chinese food.

Ragnor Fell was leaning against a wall, waiting for them. "Ah, Clarissa. Good to see that you're well."

"Thanks."

He aimed his hands at the wall. "Canines first," said Ragnor.

One of the wolves rolled his eyes. They went in one by one.

"See you around," said Jordan.

"Thanks. Tell Simon and Maia hi for me."

He nodded and stepped through.

"Alright," said Ragnor. "Next stop-" There was the sound of a bang and portal disappeared and Ragnor let out a sound of pain. He fell to his knees and clutched the right side of his chest.

"Ragnor!" Clary knelt at his side.

There were a few men at the base of the alley- all armed with guns.

Clary gasped. "Come on," she helped Ragnor to hide in front of the van as another shot rang through the alley. "Make the portal! Hurry!" She heard them coming into the alley.

Ragnor- sitting on the ground- opened the portal.

Clary grabbed his arm and hauled him through, just as another shot came from behind them.

Clary cried out in pain as she was spit onto the Institute's floor. She gripped her stomach where the bullet had gone all the way through.

"Clarissa," Ragnor- still clutching his chest- came to her side. "Hold on, Clarissa, someone's coming."

"Clary!" Her mother's voice came from down the hall. "Oh my god, Clary," he voice came from next to her then.

"Ragnor," said Valentine. "What ha-"

"Guys with guns," he said. "Wasn't expecting it."

Clary's jaw was clenched and her eyes shut, trying desperately not to scream out in pain.

"Valentine, carry her to the infirmary," said Jocelyn. "Ragnor, use some of my energy to heal yourself."

Clary felt someone lift her off the ground and she cried out.

"You're going to be alright, Clarissa," said Valentine. "Does anyone have a stele?" he called.

"Clary!" She heard Jonathan's voice. His hand grabbed her arm and she felt the burn of a rune being drawn. She opened her eyes and let out a breath as the pain receded.

Valentine set her down and another pair of arms were around her again, crushing her.

"Jonathan, I can't breath," she wheezed.

He loosened his arms a little. "I'm so glad you're alright."

When he finally let her go she looked over at the infirmary beds. Magnus was tending to Isabelle in one of them- Maryse at her side- and Jace on a bed next to her.

Clary ran over to Jace- who was unconscious. "Jace... Is he gonna be alright?" She turned to look at Magnus.

"Oh, he'll be fine," he said casually. "He just needs to rest, not go to another country again."

Clary sat on Jace's bed. "And Isabelle? What's happened to her?"

Maryse moved out of the way and Clary gasped. She had three long black cuts on her stomach, and she was breathing raggedly.

"She was a lot worse an hour ago," said Jonathan, coming up to Isabelle's bed. "She looks much better now."

"What happened?" Clary demanded.

"Really bad kitty scratch," said Magnus. "I told Chairman Meow not too, but he couldn't help himself."

Alec covered his face with his hands- embarrassed.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Demon, actually. Biggest I've ever seen."

"You haven't seen many," said Alec. "But it was pretty big."

"The one that threw her out the window?" asked Clary.

Maryse glanced at her.

Ragnor and Jocelyn both came in- looking fine. Jocelyn walked up to Clary and embraced her. "Now, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Clary explained what she knew about her situation- leaving out the part about Camille wanting to know about her portaling out of the woods.

"Money?" Said Jocelyn. "She went through all of that trouble- brought you to Shanghai- for _money_?" Jocelyn sounded disgusted.

Clary couldn't tell her the real reason- but she told half the truth.

"Ugh!" Jocelyn was clearly appalled.

"Camille Belcourt, you said?" Asked Valentine.

Clary nodded.

"It's strange that Pangborn and Blackwell are working for a vampire... They've always disliked downworlders."

"Well, are and _were_," said Clary.

Valentine looked at her, puzzled.

"Pangborn's dead. It's just Blackwell and dozens of servants," Clary shivered remembering the one she accidentally killed.

"I'll tell the Clave," said Jocelyn.

It was quiet- peaceful. Most of the people left the infirmary. Jonathan was sitting in a chair next to Isabelle's bed, sleeping. Clary sat on Jace's bed, resting her hand over his.

Isabelle looked much better now; her breathing was back to normal, and her scratches reduced to scars. She was just sleeping now.

Clary watched her brother, thinking about his refusal to leave her side- just as she'd been with Jace. She wondered if Jonathan was in love with Isabelle.

"... Clary...?"

Clary turned to see that Jace had woken up. He looked tired.

A huge grin stretched across Clary's face. "Hey, you're alright."

Jace frowned. "_I'm_ alright? What about you?"

Clary remembered how long he'd been unconscious. "Oh right, I'm fine. The Praetor Lupus got me out of there. How are you feeling?"

That wasn't enough for Jace. "I'm fine. Tell me exactly what happened."

Clary explained every single thing she remembered- minus the dream- including the part with the vampire servant she'd killed.

"This is why I didn't want to tell anyone. They'd try to use you as a weapon."

"Camille just thinks I'm part warlock," said Clary.

"That isn't the point," said Jace. "You probably won't be allowed to leave the institute for awhile now."

"I wasn't planning on it anyway."

Jace sighed. His mood changed, and the corner of his lip curled up at the corner. "Come here."

Clary smiled and came down to kiss him.

* * *

**Posting again tomorrow! Hope you liked it!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I reached 100 reviews yesterday! Thanks so much guys!**

* * *

Clary stared at the plants of the greenhouse, trying to capture the details in her sketchbook. She tried to concentrate on her drawing, but she hadn't been outside in three days, and it was driving her nuts. She longed to see the busy streets of Manhattan again- to see people bustling about, coming home from work and living in the city.

Church came up and started rubbing up against her. She scratched behind his ear, and he purred.

Clary left the greenhouse and went to hang out in the weapons room. She sketched Church- who had followed her.

"Hold still," she said. He continued to rub his face on her legs.

She heard voices out in the hall and looked up.

Isabelle, Jace, Jonathan and Alec walked in. Their weapons and gear had demon blood on them, and Jonathan had a bit of human blood on his cheek.

"Hey," Clary jumped up and set down her sketchbook.

"Hey," said Jace.

She walked up and kissed him.

"Ew, brother present," said Jonathan.

Clary ignored him and wrapped her arms around Jace's neck.

"_Ugh_."

Clary pulled away- though her arms were still around his neck. "How'd it go?"

Jace shrugged. "We killed the demons. That's about it. What'd you do?"

"Drew, mostly. Are you hungry?" Clary changed the subject.

"I am," said Jonathan.

"Let's get pizza," said Isabelle. "Alec, you call it in."

Alec groaned. "I have to shower."

"We all do," said Jace. "We all make compromises."

Clary waited in the dining room for everyone to finish showering. She was sketching Jace- it must have been her twelfth drawing of him. Her drew his familiar face- his hair, his eyes, his cheekbones, his lips... The tip of her pencil traced his perfect face, and left light gray lines of pencil led.

"That's pretty good."

Clary jumped and dropped her pencil. She turned and saw Maryse smiling down at her. She sat on Clary's left. "May I see?"

Clary hesitated at first, but handed it to her.

Maryse looked over the drawing with amazement. She smiled. "Wow, it looks exactly like him. You've got talent, Clary," she handed the sketchbook back.

Clary smiled. "Thanks."

"You got it from Jocelyn, yes?"

Clary nodded.

"Yes, Jocelyn is a very talented artist."

Clary nodded again.

There were a few seconds of silence, then Maryse cleared her throat. "When... The night I got back from Idris..."

Clary looked away and blushed. That was the night she got caught kissing Jace on her birthday.

"Are you and Jace... _Together_ now? I don't mean to pry, I'm simply curious."

Clary looked back at her and nodded. "Yes. I suppose we are."

Maryse nodded. "That's all," she stood up. "I'll go make dinner," she began to walk away.

"Actually, I think Alec was going to order pizza."

Maryse paused and looked over her shoulder. "Oh. Alright. I'll just... Give you kids some social time, then," then she left.

_That was awkward_, Clary thought. She was alone again.

Clary hadn't really thought about it, but were her and Jace... Together?

As if on cue, Jace's voice came from the kitchen. Clary shut her sketchbook and walked out of the dining room.

Alec had just set down four pizza boxes when Clary walked in. Jace looked over at her and smiled.

She blushed.

Isabelle and Jonathan were standing side by side, talking about nothing and everything at the same time, laughing. Clary caught the way Jonathan was looking at Isabelle. It was the same way Jace looked at her.

Jace came up and put his arm around her waist. "Hey."

Clary blushed. "Hey."

He leaned close to her ear. "I know you can't go outside, but that doesn't mean we can't go out," he whispered. He picked up one of the boxes, took Clary's hand and started walking out.

"Where are you going?" Asked Alec.

"Out," said Clary, and they left the room.

Jace took Clary up to the greenhouse. They lie on the floor, looking up at the glass dome ceiling at the black starry sky.

"I miss outside," she said, taking a bite of the slice of pizza in her hand.

"I figured you might. That's why we're here," said Jace.

Clary glanced over at him. He was nearly done with his third slice, and he was looking at the ceiling. She look back up, too.

"Clary, can I ask you something?" His voice was calm, serious.

"Go ahead," she said, still looking up.

"... Can we not say '_I love you_' only when we think we might die?"

Clary looked at him, eyes wide. She wasn't expecting that.

He was still looking up, as if off into the distance. "Otherwise, saying it is like saying goodbye."

Clary's face was red. "... Okay..."

Jace smiled at looked at her. "I love you."

Clary's stomach did a flip and her face turned redder. "I love you, too."

* * *

"I mean, you will not _believe_ how many times I actually threatened guys because they were into my sister," said Jonathan. "They probably all hate me to this day."

Isabelle giggled. "Yeah, attractiveness tends to run in your family."

Jonathan and Isabelle were alone in the dining room. Alec had gotten a text from Magnus Bane and left awhile ago.

"... I'm going to say thanks to that."

Isabelle raised her eyebrow, but he shook his head and chuckled.

"Hey Isabelle?"

She looked over at him. "You're pretty, too."

The corner of her lip pulled up, and she kissed him.

* * *

Clary was walking. She didn't know why, or where she was, but she was walking. The ground was dark, smooth- like the cement in a garage- and ice cold on her bare feet. She was wearing a white dress. She seemed to be walking in a very large cave, with tall ceilings, and witchlight at the lighting- though since the ceiling was so high, it did very little.

The ground began to slant down, and she stopped when she got to a line of water. The cave stretched farther and wider and taller- like a room. There was one very bright witchlight lighting up the large area- but poorly. Clary saw something below the water in the center of the room. She took a step forward, her toe touched the crystal clear ice water. She continued walking- the father she went, the deeper she got.

The water was up to her waist now. She stopped, and reached for whatever was below the surface. She grabbed hold of whatever it was- it was almost as cold as the water- and lifted it. She gasped and let go when she saw Maureen, dead, eyes stuck open. Clary stumbled backwards and bumped into someone. They grabbed her shoulders before she could turn around. Their grip was so cold, that Clary couldn't move. She looked at her shoulder, there were long, thin white fingers with black pointed nails.

There was a dark chuckle from behind her.

"Camille?" Clary whispered.

"I'm coming for you, Clarissa," she sing songed in a dark voice. "Staying inside would save you, but it wouldn't save Jason."

Clary gasped as she saw Jace- suspended in the air, unconscious.

Camille was laughing now.

Clary struggled in her grip and called out Jace's name.

Camille's Claws dug into her shoulder- keeping her from moving.

The water became clouded with something dark- no longer clear. Clary lifted her hand out of the water and it was scarlet.

Clary screamed, and Camille laughed.

Clary shot up in bed, covered in sweat. She turned on the light and looked at her hands. They weren't scarlet, but fair, and a little sweaty. She got out of bed and walked into the hall. She made her way to Jace's room and quietly opened the door. She could see from the sliver of light that came in from the hall that he was there, sleeping peacefully. She watched him for a few more seconds before closing the door and slouching against it, sliding down. She breathed heavily.

Why didn't she think of this before? Even if she stayed inside, Camille could take Jace and Clary would come willingly. Camille was dangerous, and clever, this would have occurred to her already. They couldn't go out, Clary thought, they'd have to stay inside, where it was safe.

* * *

Jace pulled on a clean t-shirt and jeans. He opened his door and looked down. Clary was laying in front of his door, sleeping.

Jace bent down and touched her shoulder. "Clary," he shook her shoulder lightly. "Clary, wake up."

Clary opened her eyes and blinked in confusion. She looked up at him. "Why am I on the floor?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Jace helped Clary to her feet.

"... Are we by your room?" she asked.

Jace nodded, "Bit of a surprise, seeing you here first thing in the morning- but a nice one."

Clary blushed. He loved it when she blushed- it made her look cute.

Jace bent down to kiss her. They kissed for a few seconds before Clary pulled away.

"I should, um... Get dressed."

Jace smirked. "Alright. I'll see you in the dining room," he watched Clary walked down the hall back towards her room.

Jace turned the other and walked down the hall to the dining room.

* * *

Jonathan finished buttoning his shirt and walked out of his bedroom. He froze in the hall when he saw Jace and Clary. They were standing in Jace's doorway, and Clary was in her pajamas. Jonathan backed up slightly to hide himself from view.

They kissed, then Clary pulled away. "I should, um... Get dressed."

Jonathan felt a pang inside- an urge to punch Jace in the face.

Jace smirked. "Alright. I'll see you in the dining room," he watched Clary walked down the hall back towards her room.

Jonathan slipped quietly back into his room and shut the door. He debated punching Jace, then, weighing his desire versus how angry Clary would be.

He decided to play it cool for now, and punch Jace later. He took a deep breath, then left his room.

* * *

Clary walked into the dining room. Jonathan, Alec, Isabelle, Jace and Maryse were all there.

"Morning," said Jace, winking at her.

"Good morning," said Jonathan. "How'd you sleep?" His voice carried an extra element that Clary couldn't identify.

Clary shrugged. "Well."

Jonathan's fork stabbed a piece of pancake from his plate and ate it.

Clary blinked his weirdness away and sat next to Jace.

She served herself some pancakes.

"So, how did demon hunting go last night?" Asked Maryse. "I forgot to ask yesterday."

Isabelle began to say something, but Clary didn't hear, she was watching Jonathan's face. He didn't seem to be listening, either, but stabbing pieces of pancake and eating them. He was obviously thinking about something upsetting, but Clary couldn't tell what. Maybe something with yesterday's hunting trip? Or Isabelle? Was he mad at her for spending more time with Jace than him?

In the training room, Clary and Jace dueled. It felt good to fight, Clary thought, she'd been cooped up in the house for four days now, and had missed the rush that came with a fight.

Jace slid forward on the floor and his feet hit Clary's ankles. She shrieked in surprise and she fell forward onto his, her sword fell from her hand, and her chest hit Jace's. He put his blade to the back of Clary's neck. "I win," he gave a teasing grin.

"I'm a bit out of practice," she said.

"Okay, _my_ turn," said Jonathan. He had that element in his voice again. He picked up the sword Clary had dropped.

Clary got off of Jace, and he came to his feet. She walked over to where Isabelle and Alec were. She heard Jace and Jonathan start, and picked up a dagger.

"Whoa, Jonathan looks intense," said Alec.

Clary looked at them. Jonathan was swinging vigorously at Jace, and he was deflecting. Jonathan looked angry.

Clary frowned.

"Wow," said Isabelle.

* * *

Clary sat next to Jace on the couch in the library. Jonathan was on another chair, glaring at a book. Isabelle was on a separate chair, watching him.

_They must have gotten into a fight or something_, Clary thought.

Alec walked into the room. "Who's up for slaying demons in an abandoned train station?"

"Fun," said Jace. He stood up. "Let's go."

"No!" Clary jumped up.

He looked at her and raised his eyebrow.

Clary bit her lip. "Nevermind. Have fun."

"... Okay..." He took the side of her face and kissed her slowly, gently.

Clary watched him leave the room. Isabelle and Jonathan said bye, and left, too, but Clary barely noticed. She could taste something missing at the tip of her tongue.

She sat on the couch and pulled out the stele and drew the remembrance rune.

She gasped at the end of it, and wished she wouldn't have remembered at all.

Clary ran from the library to the weapons room as fast as she could. She ran into the doorway, and paused. Isabelle, Alec and Jonathan were in there, but no Jace. Jonathan looked over at her.

"Hi, Clary," his voice held a hint of confusion.

"Where's Jace?"

Jonathan's face changed and he didn't answer.

"Not in here yet," said Isabelle.

Clary ran down the hall towards his room. He was walking down the hall when she got to him. "Jace," she said, finally reaching him. "Don't go."

He smiled. "It isn't _that_ bad here, is it?"

"Please," she gripped his shirt and looked into his eyes- his beautiful golden eyes- all seriousness on her face. "Stay with me."

His face became concerned. "Clary, what's wrong?"

Clary shook her head. "Don't leave. _Please_."

"Why?"

Clary just stared at him.

"... Alright."

"Thank you," Clary breathed.

Jace stared at her. "You think Camille will come for me?"

"Look, if she had you, I would come. She probably figured that out a long time ago, so I want you safe."

They were sitting back in the library. The others had left awhile ago, and Clary took him back there to explain the dream.

"Clary..." His hand went over hers and her breath hitched in her throat. He leaned over to her and kissed her. His hand went to the side of her face and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him harder. He pulled her to him and put his arms around her. She layed down onto the couch. She had her arms firmly locked around his neck as she kissed him with all of the fear she felt inside.

"Jace, is that you?" Called Maryse's voice.

Jace looked up.

Clary released him instantly and froze.

"Yes?" He said.

"I thought you were going demon hunting," the tone of her voice conveyed she actually didn't _see_ Clary there- the couch was facing away from the doorway.

"They decided they didn't need me after all," he lied.

"Oh, okay. Enjoy your reading."

After a few seconds, Jace looked back down at Clary.

Clary bit her lower lip to keep from laughing.

* * *

**I don't know about this chapter. I've written better, for sure, but I'd like to know what you thought.**


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